Sleep deprivation affects interference control: A diffusion model analysis

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Sleep Research

Background:

• Previous studies suggested sleep deprivation does not affect interference control, based on unchanged interference effects despite slower reaction times.
• This interpretation overlooked the impact of overall slower processing speeds on interference measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of sleep deprivation on interference control using a novel diffusion model approach.
• To re-evaluate previous findings by accounting for overall changes in cognitive processing speed.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a variant of the diffusion model, the diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC), for mathematical derivations and simulations.
• Conducted a Simon task experiment with participants experiencing either normal sleep or one night of sleep deprivation.
• Fitted the DMC to experimental data to analyze cognitive processing parameters.

Main Results:

• Sleep deprivation led to a decreased drift rate of task-relevant information and increased time-to-peak of task-irrelevant activation.
• While Simon effects in reaction times and distributions were not significantly altered by sleep deprivation, model fits indicated impaired interference control.
• Task-irrelevant activation increased after sleep deprivation, suggesting a degradation of central information processing.

Conclusions:

• Unchanged interference effects do not necessarily imply unaffected interference control when overall processing speed is reduced.
• Sleep deprivation impairs interference control by degrading central information processing and increasing task-irrelevant activation.
• The diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC) provides a more sensitive measure of sleep deprivation's impact on cognitive control.