Neuropsychological aspects of digital distraction: a randomized controlled experimental study

This randomized controlled experimental study examined the impact of intermittent digital distraction on cognitive executive functions within simulated social and work environments. The primary objective was to evaluate potential cognitive interference induced by audiovisual stimuli across behavioral (error rate), neurophysiological (spectral EEG parameters), and subjective (perceived workload via NASA-TLX) dimensions. The research sample comprised 87 adult participants (students, managers, and employees), randomly assigned to an experimental group ( $n=45$ ) exposed to standardized audiovisual distractions and a control group ( $n=42$ ). The experimental protocol utilized a battery of psychodiagnostic tasks assessing working memory (Dual N-back), inhibitory control (Stroop task), and selective attention (d2-R), synchronized with continuous 7-channel EEG recording via the LSL protocol. Data were analyzed using Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM), ANCOVA, and Spearman partial correlations. Behavioral analysis revealed no statistically significant main effect of digital distraction on overall error rates in the Dual N-back and Stroop tasks. A potential interaction between group and stimulus congruency in the Stroop task was observed (p = 0.043); however, given the non-significant main interaction (p = 0.285), this trend requires cautious interpretation. Neurophysiological analysis identified severe correlation between fm-Theta and Alpha bands (r > 0.98), limiting the interpretation of their unique contributions. Subjective perceived workload significantly correlated with error rates exclusively during working memory tasks. In conclusion, under the current experimental conditions, intermittent audiovisual distraction did not result in a statistically significant degradation of primary task accuracy, suggesting that participants maintained behavioral performance over short time intervals.