Effects of sleep reduction on spatial attention

Do sleep difficulties exacerbate deficits in sustained attention following traumatic brain injury?

“…Methodological variations and different defi nitions of insomnia are likely to have contributed to inconsistencies. Furthermore, studies have tended to use global measures of cognitive domains rather than measures sensitive to the components of domains most affected by sleep disruption (Versace, Cavallero, De Min Tona, & Stegagno, 2006 ).…”

Effects of nocturnal railway noise on subjective ratings of sleep and subsequent cognitive performance

“…The selective impairment of a single attentional sub-component can be highlighted by using experimental paradigms that are more refined and sensitive than the commonly adopted vigilance tasks. In recent sleep research studies, it has been shown, for instance, that the mechanisms underlying orientation of attention are differentially affected by the reduction of alertness [15]. Similarly, the functioning of the executive neural network, which plays a crucial role in the management of cognitive performance in various domains, can also be specifically affected by sleep deprivation [16,17].…”

Emerging adults’ sleep patterns and attentional capture: the pivotal role of consistency

“…When onset cues are not predictive of target location, attention toward a cue is thought to engage reflexive, attentional orienting, from which observers must disengage as they move their attention from the location of the cue to that of the target (Posner 1980;Posner and Raichle 1994;see Lupianez et al 2006 for a review). The effects of sleep on attentional orienting have been mixed with some studies showing that sleep deprivation/restriction results in larger reaction time (RT) costs for invalid trials (cues presented at nontarget locations) versus valid trials where the cue and target are presented in the same location (Martella et al 2011;Versace et al 2006), while others have found no such difference between sleep deprivation groups (Jugovac and Cavallero 2012; Martella et al 2014;Roca et al 2012). …”

“…This is a departure from the typical sleep deprivation paradigms in which participants' attention has been assessed after 24-36 h of no sleep (e.g., Blinks et al 1999;Bratzke et al 2009;Roca et al 2012), or their sleep has been consistently restricted to a smaller window over the course of several days (e.g., Cote et al 2008;Sadeh et al 2011;Versace et al 2006). In the current study, participants' cognitive performance can be interpreted within the context of their normal day-to-day functioning, as opposed to experimentally induced conditions.…”

“…Experimental manipulations of sleep deprivation or restriction on attention have been inconsistent, with studies showing no effects (Blinks et al 1999;Verstraeten et al 2004), selective effects (Jugovac and Cavallero 2012;Martella et al 2014;Roca et al 2012;Versace et al 2006) and systematic effects (Bratzke et al 2009;Cote et al 2008;Martella et al 2011;McCarthy and Waters 1997;Sadeh et al 2011) across attentional measures. Such inconsistencies may signal that the effects of sleep duration on cognitive performance are qualified by other aspects of emerging adults' sleep, such as variability in sleep patterns.…”