The abbreviated vigilance task and cerebral hemodynamics

Abstract

Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) and transcranial cerebral oximetry (TCCO) measures of cerebral blood flow velocity and oxygenation levels were collected during an abbreviated 12-min vigilance task. Both the TCD and TCCO measures showed higher levels of cerebral vascular activity in the right than in the left cerebral hemisphere; the cerebral laterality of vigilance occurs in an abbreviated task. Although there was a significant decline in performance over time, there was no significant change in the physiological measures over time during the abbreviated vigil. This latter finding does not match the physiological changes detected in long-duration vigils.

This work was supported by the Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Initiative (MURI) program administered by the Army Research office (Grant 3 DAAD 190–01–1–0621), P. A. Hancock Principal Investigator. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. We would like to thank Drs. Sherry Tove, Elmar Schmeisser, Mike Drillings, and Paul Gade for providing administrative and technical direction for this grant.