Key result
Time-on-task during vigilance testing links to declining gamma and increasing beta power, while gamma discriminates performance.
Why the study?
To test whether gamma spectral power decreases index microlapses and discriminate performers, and whether beta, alpha, and theta power increases reflect compensatory effort during sustained attention.
Observational (n=34)
Frontal gamma power declines with time-on-task and discriminates between low and high performers during a sustained attention task.
May index vigilance decrement in operational settings; leaves open validation before clinical or research adoption.
Sustained attention is an essential behavior in life, but often leads to performance decrements with time. Computational accounts of sustained attention suggest this is due to brief disruptions in goal-directed processing, or microlapses. Decreases in gamma spectral power are a potential candidate for indexing microlapses and discriminating between low and high performers in sustained attention tasks, while increases in beta, alpha, and theta power are expected to exhibit compensatory effort to offset fatigue. The current study tests these hypotheses in a 10-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Test, a context that eliminates confounds with measuring gamma frequencies. 34 participants ( Mage = 22.60; SDage = 4.08) volunteered in the study. Results suggested frontal gamma power declined with time-on-task, indicating reduction in central cognition. Beta power increased with time-on-task, suggesting compensatory effort; however, alpha and theta power did not increase. Additionally, gamma power discriminated between low and high performers, potentially suggesting motivational differences between the groups.
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Borghetti et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Sustained attention (n=34). Time-on-task during a Psychomotor Vigilance Test was evaluated on Changes in gamma, beta, alpha, and theta spectral power. During a 10-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Test, frontal gamma power declined and beta power increased with time-on-task, and gamma power discriminated between low and high performers.
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