Total sleep deprivation increases the costs of shifting between simple cognitive tasks.
In two experiments we studied the effects of one night of total sleep deprivation on task-shift costs. In different conditions shifts were between types of judgment (extradimensional shifts) and between stimulus-response mappings (intradimensional shifts). In addition, with an alternating-runs procedure we used short and long response-to-stimulus intervals and also external precues to vary the opportunities for advance configuration of task sets. Under all conditions sleep deprivation increased shift costs derived from the 20% slowest reaction times, which were insensitive to the opportunities for advance configuration. Shift costs derived from the 20% fastest reaction times were increased only for extradimensional shifts. As indicated by congruency effects, the increase of shift costs after a night without sleep cannot be attributed to increased interference between competing task sets. The findings suggest that total sleep deprivation increases task-set instability and thus lapsing, in particular in conditions with long stimulus-to-response intervals and in shift trials. In addition total sleep deprivation seems to increase the duration of an exogenously controlled process involved in extradimensional shifts.
Institut für Arbeitsphysiologie an der Universität Dortmund, Ardeystrasse 67, 44139 Dortmund, Germany. heuer@ifado.de
Herbert
H
Heuer
Thomas
T
Kleinsorge
Wolfhard
W
Klein
Olaf
O
Kohlisch
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011340:Problem Solving; D011930:Reaction Time; D012016:Reference Values; D012691:Serial Learning; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000523:psychology*