Speaker
Description
The widespread effect of sleep deprivation on basic cognitive functioning raises the question of its effect on daily activities, and particularly those that – being performed simultaneously – are inherently more challenging. The simultaneous performance of a cognitive and a motor task (i.e., dual-tasking) has indeed shown to reflect an interference, usually referred to as Cognitive Motor Interference (CMI). CMI is generally quantified in terms of dual-task effects (DTEs), tracking the extent of the interference between single and dual-tasking for both cognitive and motor performance. This study aimed at investigating the effect of an acute partial sleep deprivation on upper limb dual-task performance. Through a within-subject design, participants screened for good sleep quality (Pittsburgh Quality Index ≤ 5) underwent one night of normal sleep (NS), from 12AM to 9AM, and one night of partial sleep deprivation (SD), from 1AM to 6AM. After both NS and SD conditions, participants performed, in randomized order, tasks targeting inhibitory control (Go/No-go task; GNG), sustained attention (Psychomotor vigilance task; PVT) and motor performance (finger tapping; FT) under single (ST) and dual-task (DT) conditions (i.e., the FT motor task was combined with either PVT or GNG). Regardless of the sleep condition, comparing DT and ST performance revealed significant DTEs for both cognitive abilities. Moreover, we observed larger DTEs after sleep deprivation compared to normal sleep. Unveiling the factors shaping dual-task performance in sleep-deprived situations can provide novel insights into the implications of both sleep-disordered conditions and specific lifestyles entailing occasional sleep deprivation.
