Eyes wide open: regulation of arousal by temporal expectations

Abstract

To perform a task continuously over an extended period of time, it is necessary to maintain an adequate level of arousal. In cognitive research, traditional studies have used repetitive, monotonous tasks to learn about the dynamics of arousal in tasks that require sustained vigilance, such as driving or monitoring a factory line. To date, studies have rarely considered whether observers use task-embedded regularities in such continuous contexts to anticipate events and regulate arousal accordingly. In the current study, we explored whether arousal is an adaptive process that reacts to stimulus predictability. Across two experiments, we used pupillometry as a proxy measure of arousal in human observers performing continuous tasks. Within the tasks, we manipulated the temporal predictability of relevant events by presenting stimuli either in a fixed rhythm or at varied intervals. Temporal predictability led to the lowering of tonic levels of arousal. Trial-wise temporal structures led to short-scale changes in pupil size related to temporal anticipation. Accordingly, we suggest that arousal is sensitive to varying levels of temporal predictability and dynamically adapts to task demands to bring about performance benefits as well as energetic efficiencies overall.

Previous Mental Load and Incentives Influence Anticipatory Arousal as Indexed by the Baseline Pupil Diameter in a Speech-in-Noise Task

“…Due to time constraints and ethical considerations the fatigue manipulation was not strong; participants may have been able to exert effort even after the manipulation. Furthermore, the short periods in between the trials may have allowed participants to rest between the trials ( Nobre & Van Ede, 2018 ; Shalev & Nobre, 2021 ) and thereby mobilize enough capacity even after the fatigue manipulation.…”