Local build-up of sleep pressure could trigger mind wandering: Evidence from sleep, circadian and mind wandering research

Jubera-Garcia, Esperanza; Gevers, Wim; Opstal, Filip Van

doi:10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114478

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 107 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Because of the supposed relation between the executive system and MW, together these results suggest that the executive system is particularly prone to temporary failures in evening chronotypes. Whether this difference in executive system functioning between chronotypes is caused by differences in personality traits (Finomore, Matthews, Shaw, & Warm, 2009), sleep efficiency (Lehnkering & Siegmund, 2007;Taillard, Philip, & Bioulac, 1999), or the availability of cognitive resources (Jubera-Garcia et al, 2021;Nowack & Van Der Meer, 2018) cannot be answered by this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Why MW episodes occur remains unclear but different studies suggested that sleeprelated factors influence their frequency (for a review, see Jubera-Garcia, Gevers, & Van Opstal, 2021). Survey studies have shown a relation between sleep quality and MW (Carciofo, Du, Song, & Zhang, 2014), with the number of sleep disturbances being predictive of the number of MW episodes on the following day (Marcusson-Clavertz, West, Kjell, & Somer, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mind-wandering in larks and owls: The effects of chronotype and time of day on the frequency of task-unrelated thoughts

Opstal¹,

Aslanov²,

Schnelzer³

2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

People differ in their optimal time of day to perform a cognitive task: Morning people (“larks”) perform better in the morning compared to the evening, and the reversed is true for evening people (“owls”). This synchrony effect has been observed for executive functions, such as inhibitory control. Participants performing the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) make more commission errors at their non-optimal time of day. Because mind-wandering (MW) has been related to the executive system, we here investigated a synchrony effect in the frequency of MW. After determining the participants’ chronotype (n = 130), they completed an online version of the SART twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. MW was subjectively measured using a probe-caught method. Results showed that “larks” mind-wandered more often in the evening than the morning session. In contrast, “owls” showed the opposite profile. Objective markers for MW (i.e., accuracy and reaction time coefficient of variance) confirmed these results. Furthermore, in line with earlier suggestions, the frequency of MW was also directly related to the number of hours slept the night before the experiment, and an overall higher frequency of MW was observed for evening chronotypes. The results of this study provide clear evidence for the relation between sleep-related factors and MW, and raises the importance of accounting for chronotype differences when scheduling work and academic activities.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mind-wandering in larks and owls: The effects of chronotype and time of day on the frequency of task-unrelated thoughts

Opstal¹,

Aslanov²,

Schnelzer³

2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These results have been explained by the executive-control account assuming that executive control fades over time eventually leading to an increasing failure to allocate sufficient resources to the primary task (Thomson et al, 2015). We here posit the non-mutually exclusive hypothesis that changes in MW with time-on-task are not necessarily related to a decline of the executive system itself, but can also be due to a fading of the resources in the task-related areas because of a build-up of local sleep pressure (Andrillon et al, 2019;Jubera-Garcia et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Combining results from MW and sleep research, however, raises the interesting suggestion that MW could be related to local changes in primary task-related networks (Andrillon et al, 2019; Jubera-García et al, 2021). Studies evidenced a positive relationship between the occurrence of MW and increasing sleep pressure (i.e., the biological, homeostatic drive for sleep; Carciofo et al, 2014; Poh et al, 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Local use-dependent activity triggers mind wandering: Resource depletion or executive dysfunction?

Jubera-Garcia¹,

Vermeylen²,

Peigneux³

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mind wandering (MW) is a highly prevalent phenomenon despite its negative consequences on behavior. Current views about its origin share the idea that MW occurs due to changes in the executive functions system. Here, we argue that not all instances of MW are necessarily related to changes in that system. Combining results from MW and sleep research, we propose that MW could also be related to the depletion of resources in primary task-related networks. To test this hypothesis, participants performed four sessions of the texture discrimination task (TDT) on a day. The TDT is a perceptual learning task in which performance is negatively related to the local build-up of sleep pressure. During the TDT, MW was recorded in both a subjective (i.e., with thought probes) and an objective (i.e., phasic pupillary response) manner. Results showed that accuracy on the TDT was mirrored in the objective measure of MW. For the subjective measure, the pattern was similar to that of task performance but could not be interpreted as reliable. These results demonstrate that not all MW is necessarily related to changes in the executive system and support the hypothesis that MW could be related to the depletion of local, task-related resources. Public Significance StatementOur study contributes to the ongoing debate about the origin of mind wandering (MW). Departing from current dominant views that implicate the executive functions system in MW, we here provide evidence for the alternative proposition that MW might be locally initiated due to an increase in sleep pressure in neural areas engaged during performance of a task.

show abstract

“…The first one [10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114518] focuses on the human brain and the changes in brain response complexity during prolonged overnight wakefulness and overnight sleep loss [10]. Then the evidence in favour of the links between local sleep homoeostasis and circadian rhythmicity and mind wandering, which, intuitively, appears more likely when sleepiness is high [10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114478] is reviewed [11]. The next original report [10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114111] reminds us that, although dysfunctional during sleep loss, we are still able to perform, even if at a lower level, meaning that the brain is equipped to do without sleep for a while.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian, sleep-wake dependent or both? A preface to the special issue “Circadian rhythm and sleep-wake dependent regulation of behavior and brain function”

Vandewalle

2021

Biochemical Pharmacology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Local build-up of sleep pressure could trigger mind wandering: Evidence from sleep, circadian and mind wandering research

Cited by 18 publications

References 107 publications

Mind-wandering in larks and owls: The effects of chronotype and time of day on the frequency of task-unrelated thoughts

Mind-wandering in larks and owls: The effects of chronotype and time of day on the frequency of task-unrelated thoughts

Local use-dependent activity triggers mind wandering: Resource depletion or executive dysfunction?

Circadian, sleep-wake dependent or both? A preface to the special issue “Circadian rhythm and sleep-wake dependent regulation of behavior and brain function”

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About