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Effects of auditory and vibrotactile stimulations on EEG markers of vigilance following sleep deprivation

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Morgane Meyer¹ (), Claire Giot¹, Khadijeh Sadatnejad³, Jacques Taillard³, Laure Lejeune², Nicolas Bessot¹; ¹Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, COMETE, GIP CYCERON, Caen, France, ²Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, ENSICAEN, CNRS, GREYC, Caen, France, ³SANPSY, USR 3413, université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

Sleep deprivation impairs the ability to maintain vigilance, especially in monotonous tasks such as long-distance driving, thereby increasing the risk of accidents. To counter these effects, sensory stimulations have been explored as transient means to enhance vigilance, but the relative efficacy of different modalities remains unclear. The aim of our study was to examine the transient effects of auditory and vibrotactile stimulations of different lengths on the recovery of vigilance following the onset of a hypovigilant episode. For this purpose, fifty-two participants underwent one night of total sleep deprivation. Equipped with electroencephalographic (EEG) recording and a stimulation wristband, participants performed a two-hour monotonous driving task on a simulator. When a hypovigilant episode was detected (based on EEG), one of five conditions was triggered: either a short (8s) or long (20s) vibrotactile stimulation, a short or long auditory stimulation or no stimulation at all, with each participant experiencing all five conditions. EEG activity was analyzed using relative power spectral density (PSD) over 80 seconds following each condition, as a reduction in alpha power (8–14 Hz) is typically associated with increased vigilance. Linear mixed-model analyses revealed significantly lower alpha power following all stimulation conditions compared to the no-stimulation condition, with no significant differences between the different modalities or durations of stimulation. These results suggest that vibrotactile and auditory stimulations can enhance vigilance levels following hypovigilant episodes, with potential applications in real-world settings. Future analyses will investigate how these findings are related to driving performance.

Topic Area: ATTENTION: Other