Sleep deprivation affects the sensitivity of proactive and reactive action monitoring: A behavioural and ERP analysis

We studied the impact of sleep deprivation on action monitoring. Each participant performed a Simon task after a normal night of sleep and after 26 h of awakening. Reaction time (RT) distributions were analyzed and the sensitivity of the error negativity (Ne/Ne like) to response correctness was examined.Results showed that (1) the Simon effect persisted for the longest RTs only after sleep deprivation and (2) the sensitivity of the Ne/Ne like to correctness decreased after sleep deprivation, especially on incongruent trials. This suggests that after sleep deprivation (1) the ability to inhibit prepotent response tendencies is impaired and (2) the sensitivity of a response monitoring system as revealed by the error negativity is less sensitive to performance.In conclusion, action monitoring was affected by sleep deprivation as revealed by distributional analyses and the sensitivity of the Ne/Ne like to performance, which may be attributed to the fragility of prefrontal structures to sleep deprivation.

► We studied the impact of 26 h sleep deprivation on action monitoring.
► Reaction time distributions and error negativity (Ne/Ne-like) were analyzed.
► The ability to inhibit prepotent response tendencies was impaired.
► The sensitivity of the Ne/Ne like to performance was decreased.