Nieuwenhuys Arne, Wadsley Corey G, Sullivan Robyn, Cirillo John, Byblow Winston D
Movement Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Exercise Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA.
Sleep. 2025 Mar 11;48(3). doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsae275.
Sleep deprivation may impair top-down inhibitory control over emotional responses (e.g. under threat). The current study examined the behavioral consequences of this phenomenon and manipulated the magnitude of individuals' sleep deficit to determine effect thresholds.
Twenty-four healthy human participants were provided with 0, 2, 4, and 8 hours of sleep opportunity and, subsequently, performed a bimanual anticipatory response inhibition task under threat and no-threat conditions. Behavioral responses (button presses) and surface electromyography (EMG) from task effectors were collected to examine going and stopping processes.
Bayesian analyses revealed that compared to 8 hours of sleep, go-trial accuracy was reduced with 0 hours of sleep. Stopping speed was reduced with 0 and 2 hours of sleep, as evidenced by longer stop-signal delays, but only in a selective stopping context. None of the outcome measures were impacted by 4 hours of sleep. Under threat, go-trial accuracy was maintained, while responses were slightly delayed and characterized by amplified EMG bursts. Stopping speed was increased under threat across both stop-all and selective stopping contexts. No evidence was observed for interactions between sleep and threat.
Sleep deprivation negatively affected response inhibition in a selective stopping context, with stopping speed reduced following a single night of ≤2 hours of sleep. Performance-contingent threat improved response inhibition, possibly due to a prioritizing of stopping. No evidence was observed for increased threat-related responses after sleep deprivation, suggesting that sleep deprivation and threat may impact inhibitory control via independent mechanisms.
睡眠剥夺可能会损害对情绪反应（如在威胁情况下）的自上而下的抑制控制。本研究考察了这一现象的行为后果，并对个体睡眠不足的程度进行了操控，以确定影响阈值。
为24名健康的人类参与者提供0、2、4和8小时的睡眠机会，随后，他们在有威胁和无威胁条件下执行一项双手预期反应抑制任务。收集任务执行器的行为反应（按键）和表面肌电图（EMG），以检查启动和停止过程。
贝叶斯分析显示，与8小时睡眠相比，0小时睡眠时启动试验的准确性降低。0小时和2小时睡眠时停止速度降低，表现为更长的停止信号延迟，但仅在选择性停止情境中如此。4小时睡眠对所有结果指标均无影响。在有威胁的情况下，启动试验的准确性得以维持，而反应略有延迟，且以肌电爆发增强为特征。在有威胁的情况下，无论是全停止还是选择性停止情境，停止速度都有所提高。未观察到睡眠和威胁之间存在相互作用的证据。
睡眠剥夺在选择性停止情境中对反应抑制产生负面影响，在单晚睡眠≤2小时后停止速度降低。基于表现的威胁改善了反应抑制，可能是由于对停止的优先处理。未观察到睡眠剥夺后与威胁相关的反应增加的证据，这表明睡眠剥夺和威胁可能通过独立机制影响抑制控制。
