Electrophysiological Mechanism of Attention of Sleep Deprivation: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials (ERP) Data

Abstract

Introduction:The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation on individual attentional function and related electrophysiological mechanisms.Methods: Twenty healthy men who were deprived of sleep for 24 h were evaluated by selective attention test, persistent attention test, and event-related potentials (ERP) experiment.Results: After 24 h of sleep deprivation, the subjects' selective attention decreased, mainly manifested as prolonged response time, decreased motion stability, increased rate of neglect error, decreased sustained attention, prolonged latency of P300 at Cz (p=0.001), and decreased amplitude (p=0.000). Conclusion:After 24 h of sleep deprivation, the attentional ability decreased significantly, and behavioral and ERP indicators showed certain changes.