Congratulations to Enrique Molina for his latest publication entitled "Electroencephalographic and peripheral temperature dynamics during a prolonged psychomotor vigilance task".

The work, just accepted for publication in Accident; Analysis and Prevention explores the relationship between sustained attention performance, peripheral temperature and time-frequency signatures of cortical activity.

Reference:
Molina, E., Sanabria, D., Jung, T.-P., & Correa, A. (2017). Electroencephalographic and peripheral temperature dynamics during a prolonged psychomotor vigilance task. Paper in press in Accident Analysis & Prevention.

Abstract:
Attention lapses and fatigue are a main source of impaired performance that can lead to accidents. This study analyzed both electroencephalographic (EEG) dynamics and body skin temperature as markers of attentional fluctuations in non-sleep deprived subjects during a 45 minutes Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). Independent Component Analysis and time- frequency analysis were used to evaluate the EEG data. Results showed a positive association between distal and distal-to-proximal gradient (DPG) temperatures and reaction time (RT); increments in EEG power in alpha-, theta- and beta-band frequencies in parieto-occipital, central-medial and frontal components, were associated with poor performance (slower RT) in the task. This generalized power increment fits with an increased activity in the default mode network, associated with attention lapses. This study highlights the potential use of the PVT as a tool to obtain individual physiological indices of vigilance and fatigue that could be generalized to other vigilance tasks typically performed in occupational settings.