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Disentangling specific inhibitory versus general decision-making processes during sleep deprivation using a Go/NoGo
Anik Gosselin1, Joseph De Koninck2, Kenneth B Campbell3
1School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Canada; St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, Ottawa, Canada; University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Canada.
Summary
Sleep deprivation impacts decision-making, but not specifically inhibition. Event-related potentials (ERPs) suggest prolonged wakefulness affects general processing and inhibitory control, with effects lingering post-recovery sleep.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Sleep Research
Background:
- Sleep deprivation is known to impair cognitive functions.
- Its specific effects on decision-making and inhibitory control remain under investigation.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs) offer insights into neural processes during cognitive tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether sleep deprivation broadly affects decision-making or specifically impairs inhibitory control.
- To examine the impact of prolonged wakefulness on Go/NoGo task performance and associated ERPs.
- To differentiate between general detection deficits and specific inhibition impairments due to sleep loss.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a Go/NoGo event-related potential (ERP) paradigm with rare Go and NoGo stimuli.
- Administered the task to eleven participants during 36 hours of sleep deprivation and post-recovery sleep.
- Recorded ERPs, specifically focusing on the NoGo P3 component, to assess inhibitory processes.
Main Results:
- Accuracy decreased for both Go and NoGo tasks during sleep deprivation.
- Reaction time increased for the Go task, while NoGo task performance showed a speed-accuracy trade-off.
- NoGo P3 amplitude reduction was significant only after 24 and 36 hours of wakefulness, indicating a sleep deprivation effect.
- Go P3 amplitude changes early on might be due to task repetition, not sleep loss.
Conclusions:
- Sleep deprivation does not appear to have specific effects on inhibitory control in the short term.
- Prolonged wakefulness (≥24 hours) significantly impacts inhibitory processes, as evidenced by reduced NoGo P3 amplitude.
- Cognitive performance and ERP measures may not fully recover after sleep deprivation, potentially due to residual sleep inertia.
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