Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
PulseExploreClubsResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeClubsExplore
September 17, 2026LifeOpen Access

Individual Patterns of Heart Rate Variability During Prolonged Cognitive Load with Mental Fatigue Induction

View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Key result

Prolonged cognitive load links to highly variable and poorly reproducible initial HR responses across tasks.

Why the study?

Individual dynamics of cognitive performance and heart rate variability during prolonged mental load and fatigue induction are not well characterized.

Comparison

Serial Subtraction Task vs Working Memory Task during prolonged mental load

Design

Observational study analyzing cognitive performance and HRV measures

Authors

ЕБЕ. И. БоровковаAKAnton R. KiselevVSVladimir A. Shvartz

Discussion

Loading...

Member takes

Overview

May inform personalized mental fatigue monitoring; leaves open validation in larger prospective studies.

Key Points

  • To identify individual cognitive performance phases and autonomic physiological response patterns during prolonged, mentally fatiguing cognitive tasks.
  • Evaluated participants performing two prolonged cognitive paradigms: the Serial Subtraction Task and the Working Memory Task.
  • Tracked subjective fatigue, autonomic metrics via heart rate variability, and cognitive efficiency using an integrated relative performance index.
  • The optimal performance phase appeared in all subjects and the fatigue phase occurred in most, whereas the initial adaptation phase occurred in fewer than half.
  • Participants separated into two distinct initial heart rate response patterns (increase versus decrease), which governed downstream heart rate variability dynamics across task phases.
  • Approximately half of the subjects exhibited opposite initial heart rate response directions between the two cognitive tasks, demonstrating task-dependent physiological variability.

Study Design

Type

Observational

Structured PICO

P
Population
Subjects undergoing prolonged mental load (sample size and demographics not stated in abstract)
E
Exposure
Prolonged mentally fatiguing tasks (Serial Subtraction Task and Working Memory Task)
O
Outcome
Cognitive performance phases and individual patterns of physiological responses (heart rate variability and heart rate)surrogate

There is pronounced inter-individual variability in cognitive performance and physiological responses (HRV) during prolonged mental load, highlighting the need for personalized approaches to monitoring mental fatigue.

Cite This Study

Боровкова et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Mental fatigue. Prolonged cognitive load was evaluated on Cognitive performance phases and individual patterns of physiological responses (HRV). Prolonged cognitive load induced pronounced inter-individual variability in cognitive performance phases and initial heart rate responses, with limited reproducibility across different tasks.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aaba4611561938ee54ba35dhttps://doi.org/10.3390/life16091553
View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Dissociation between mental fatigue and motivational state during prolonged mental activity2015 · 161 citations
  2. 2An Overview of Heart Rate Variability Metrics and Norms2017 · 7,255 citations
  3. 3Examining the Influence of Cognitive Load and Environmental Conditions on Autonomic Nervous System Response in Military Aircrew: A Hypoxia–Normoxia Study2024 · 5 citations
  4. 4Synchronization of the Processes of Autonomic Control of Blood Circulation in Humans Is Different in the Awake State and in Sleep Stages2022 · 12 citations
  5. 5Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using<b>lme4</b>2015 · 89,383 citations