BACKGROUND Cognitive deficits are a substantial burden in clinical depression. The present study considered dysfunction in the right-hemispheric attention network in depression, examining alertness and visuospatial attention. METHODS Three computerized visuospatial attention tests and an alertness test were administered to 16 depressive patients and 16 matched healthy controls. RESULTS Alth...

Alertness, the most basic intensity aspect of attention, probably is a prerequisite for the more complex and capacity demanding domains of attention selectivity. Behaviorally, intrinsic alertness represents the internal (cognitive) control of wakefulness and arousal; typical tasks to assess optimal levels of intrinsic alertness are simple reaction time measurements without preceding warning sti...

The literature suggests that the following effects on behavior of adult humans may occur when individuals consume moderate amounts of caffeine. (1) Caffeine increases alertness and reduces fatigue. This may be especially important in low arousal situations (e.g. working at night). (2) Caffeine improves performance on vigilance tasks and simple tasks that require sustained response. Again, these...

We present an evaluation of a self-administered, biofeedback-aided, alertness training programme called the Alertness: Training for Focused Living (ATFL) Programme, which was developed as part of the Technology Research for Independent Living (TRIL) collaboration. We conducted two studies in order to evaluate the programme. A randomized controlled trial was, first of all, conducted with 40 olde...

Strategies to achieve ambitious targets for reducing road accidents ( 34 ) have largely focused on engineering and technological advancements, the modification of occupational demands, and, to a lesser extent, human factors. These factors include stress and psychological states; sleep, fatigue, and alertness; and health status. Physical activity appears to influence all these human factors but ...

This study investigated the effects on attention performance after exposure to noise and whole-body vibration in relation to subjective noise sensitivity. Sixteen high and 16 low sensitivity male students, as determined by the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Questionnaire, participated in a within-subjects experiment. Noise and vibration stimuli similar to those usually occurring in forestry vehicl...

Sleep restriction causes impaired cognitive performance that can result in adverse consequences in many occupational settings. Individuals may rely on self-perceived alertness to decide if they are able to adequately perform a task. It is therefore important to determine the relationship between an individual's self-assessed alertness and their objective performance, and how this relationship d...

Fourteen subjects consumed four realistic isoenergetic (2035 kJ) breakfasts, varying in macronutrient content (two fat-rich, two carbohydrate-rich (low- and high-fibre)), in random order on separate mornings. After breakfast, subjects left the laboratory and completed appetite and alertness ratings at specific times and recorded all subsequent fluid and food intake for the rest of the day. The ...