Abstract
Sustained attention encompasses a cascade of fundamental functions. The human ability to implement a sustained attention task is supported by brain networks that dynamically formed and dissolved through oscillatory synchronization. The decrement of vigilance induced by prolonged task engagement affects sustained attention. However, little is known about which stage or combinations are affected by vigilance decrement. Here, we applied an analysis framework composed of weighted phase lag index (wPLI) and tensor component analysis (TCA) to an EEG dataset collected during 80 min sustained attention task to examine the electrophysiological basis of such effect. We aimed to characterize the phase-coupling networks to untangle different phases involved in sustained attention and study how they are modulated by vigilance decrement. We computed the time–frequency domain wPLI from each block and subject and constructed a fourth-order tensor, containing the time, frequency, functional connectivity (FC), and blocks × subjects. This tensor was subjected to the TCA to identify the interacted and low-dimensional components representing the frequency-specific dynamic FC (fdFC). We extracted four types of neuromakers during a sustained attention task, namely the pre-stimulus alpha right-lateralized parieto-occipital FC, the post-stimulus theta fronto-parieto-occipital FC, delta fronto-parieto-occipital FC, and beta right/left sensorimotor FCs. All these fdFCs were impaired by vigilance decrement. These fdFCs, except for the beta left sensorimotor network, were restored by rewards, although the restoration by reward in the beta right sensorimotor network was transient. These findings provide implications for dissociable effects of vigilance decrement on sustained attention by utilizing the tensor-based framework.
Highlights
By utilizing the analysis framework composed of the weighted phase lag index and tensor component analysis (TCA), we aim to characterize the frequency-specific dynamic FC (fdFC) corresponding to temporalspectral-spatial signatures that can be used to interpret the neural mechanisms of different phases of sustained attention and to reflect the modulations by vigilance decrement
The number of TCA components were determined by the difference of fits (DIFFIT), and the components modulated by the sustained attention task were selected from the retained TCA components using the criterion of prior knowledge and the significant correlations with behavioral measurements
We presented the multi-domain TCA components involved in the sustained attention task in the conditions of correct rejections, hits, and misses, and showed the variations of fdFC affected by vigilance decrement and motivation
Summary
The motivational control theories insist that the decrement of vigilance is associated with mental representations of costs and benefits and the task performance decreases when the costs outweigh the benefits (Kurzban et al 2013). These three theories still have limitations to interpret all fatiguerelated changes. Boksem and colleagues (Boksem and Tops 2008) proposed a hybrid model synthesizing the motivational control and energetical costs, stating that human task performance is determined by the energetical state and the mental representations of costs and benefits. Despite substantial efforts have been made for this, the mechanisms of vigilance decrement are still ambiguous
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