Disrupted sensorimotor gating due to mental fatigue: Preliminary evidence

Mental fatigue is a common phenomenon that either results from sustained mental effort or that is comorbid to a range of psychological and somatic disorders. Important symptoms of mental fatigue comprise cognitive and attentional difficulties, which have adverse effects on task performance and on everyday activities. Yet, little is known about the neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie these effects. In the current study, we explore whether sensorimotor gating is one of the cognitive mechanisms that is disturbed under fatigue. To test this, we compare prepulse inhibition (PPI) between fatigued (n = 11) and non-fatigued participants (n = 9). Fatigue was induced by 90 min of cognitively demanding work. Results showed that, compared to the non-fatigue group, fatigued participants displayed significantly reduced levels of PPI after the manipulation. These findings are linked to theories about compromised cognitive control under fatigue and to recent ideas about the role of dopamine in fatigue as well as in the regulation of PPI.