Mental fatigue and impaired response processes: Event-related brain potentials in a Go/NoGo task

• Published in: International journal of psychophysiology Vol. 72; no. 2; pp. 204 - 211
• Main Authors: Kato, Yuichiro, Endo, Hiroshi, Kizuka, Tomohiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.05.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - physiopathology; Contingent Negative Variation - physiology; Decision Making - physiology; Electroencephalography - methods; Event-related brain potentials; Evoked Potentials - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Mental fatigue; Mental Fatigue - pathology; Mental Fatigue - physiopathology; Neuropsychological Tests; Photic Stimulation - methods; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reaction Time - physiology; Resource; Response execution; Response inhibition; Resource; Response inhibition; Event-related brain potentials; Response execution; Mental fatigue; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Fatigue; Inhibition; Event evoked potential; Encephalon
• ISSN: 0167-8760; 1872-7697; 1872-7697
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.12.008

The effects of mental fatigue on the availability of cognitive resources and associated response-related processes were examined using event-related brain potentials. Subjects performed a Go/NoGo task for 60 min. Reaction time, number of errors, and mental fatigue scores all significantly increased with time spent on the task. The NoGo-P3 amplitude significantly decreased with time on task, but the Go-P3 amplitude was not modulated. The amplitude of error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) also decreased with time on task. These results indicate that mental fatigue attenuates resource allocation and error monitoring for NoGo stimuli. The Go- and NoGo-P3 latencies both increased with time on task, indicative of a delay in stimulus evaluation time due to mental fatigue. NoGo-N2 latency increased with time on task, but NoGo-N2 amplitude was not modulated. The amplitude of response-locked lateralized readiness potential (LRP) significantly decreased with time on task. Mental fatigue appears to slows down the time course of response inhibition, and impairs the intensity of response execution.