In 2 experiments, a 12-min computerized vigilance task was demonstrated to reproduce the vigilance decrement, high workload (NASA-TLX), and stressful character (Dundee Stress State Questionnaire) of vigilance tasks lasting 30 min or more. In Experiment 1, the abbreviated task was also shown to duplicate the signal salience effect, a major finding associated with long-duration vigilance tasks. M...

Many animals must trade-off anti-predator vigilance with other behaviours. Some species facilitate predator detection by joining mixed-species foraging parties and 'eavesdropping' on the predator warnings given by other taxa. Such use of heterospecific warnings presumably reduces the likelihood of predation, but it is unclear whether it also provides wider benefits, by allowing individuals to r...

Working memory load is critically important for the overall level of performance on vigilance tasks. However, its role in a key aspect of vigilance-sensitivity decrement over time-is unclear. We used a dual-task procedure in which either a spatial or a nonspatial working memory task was performed simultaneously with a spatial vigilance task for 20 min. Sensitivity in the vigilance task declined...

We examined the impact task interruptions have on visuospatial vigilance in two experiments. In the first experiment participants were randomly assigned to one of three interruptions: participants were given a complete rest (rest), participants completed an alphanumeric vigilance task (letter), or participants performed the primary vigilance task (continuous). In the second experiment participa...

1309 SLEEP-DISORDERED BREATHING (SDB) IS A CONDITION CHARACTERIZED BY REPEATED BREATHING PAUSES AND REDUCED AIRFLOW DURING SLEEP, LEADING TO nocturnal arousals, unrefreshing sleep, and daytime sleepiness. SDB has been shown to be a contributing factor in diminished neurocognitive functioning.1-4 Specifically, within the spectrum of neurocognitive deficits, vigilance impairment or inability to s...

During the last few decades, much knowledge has been gained about sleep being a heterogeneous condition with several distinct sleep stages that represent fundamentally different physiological states. The same applies for the wake state which also comprises distinct global functional states (called vigilance stages). However, various terms and concepts have been introduced describing different a...

States of consciousness in the brain offer a metric for explaining and predicting behaviors. There is a well-known correlation between epileptic seizure susceptibility and state of vigilance. Our goal is to design a system for detecting state of vigilance in real time using invasive electroencephalography and measurements of head movement. We will use this to probe the relationship between stat...

The classic neurophysiologic definition of consciousness distinguishes between 2 components, namely vigilance (or arousal) and awareness. Vigilance corresponds to the level of wakefulness, whereas awareness refers to the mental content, which in turn is composed of 2 components being conscious perception of the environment or external world (external awareness) and of our inner world and self-a...

Skin temperature shows spontaneous ultradian fluctuations during everyday-life wakefulness. Previous work showed that mild manipulations of skin temperature affect human sleep and vigilance, presumably by influencing neuronal systems involved in both thermal sensing and arousal regulation. We therefore examined whether fluctuations in skin temperature are associated with those in vigilance leve...

ambient temperatures, long nights, and unpredictable food supplies. Two evolutionary forces are thought o affect an individual's survivorship during winter: risk of starvation and risk of predation (Lima 1986, McNamara and Houston 1990, Grubb and Pravosudov 1994a, Pravosudov and Grubb 1997). Foraging and vigilance for predators appear to be mutually exclusive forms of behavior that an animal mu...