Biomedical subjects

Dimitri van der Linden

Publications and source records attributed to Dimitri van der Linden.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

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.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2005

Mental fatigue disturbs local processing more than global processing.

Focusing of attention is influenced by external features such as the presence of global or local target stimuli, but also by motivation and mood states. In the current study, we examined whether working on cognitively demanding tasks for 2 h, which induces mental fatigue, subsequently had a differential effect on global and local processing. The results showed that, compared to non-fatigued participants, fatigued participants particularly displayed compromised local processing. This indicates that mental fatigue may also manifest itself as effects on attentional focusing. The findings of this study are in line with recent ideas about the nature of fatigue-related cognitive deficits, implying disturbances in the control over attention and behaviour.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Working overtime hours: relations with fatigue, work motivation, and the quality of work.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to better understand the relationship between overtime and mental fatigue by taking into account work motivation and the quality of overtime work and studying theoretically derived subgroups. METHODS: We conducted a survey-study among a representative sample of the Dutch full-time workforce (n = 1807). The prevalence of overtime work and the associations between overtime and job demands, job variety, decision latitude, fatigue, and work motivation was studied through descriptive statistics. We used MANCOVA (covariates: age, gender, salary level) to compare six overtime-fatigue subgroups with respect to work motivation and job characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 67% of the respondents worked overtime (mean, 3.5 hours). Overtime workers appeared to be nonfatigued, motivated workers with favorable work characteristics. MANCOVA revealed no significant overtime-fatigue interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate overtime is common among Dutch workers, who seem to be happy workers with attractive jobs rather than fatigued employees.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Mental fatigue and the control of cognitive processes: effects on perseveration and planning.

We tested whether behavioural manifestations of mental fatigue may be linked to compromised executive control, which refers to the ability to regulate perceptual and motor processes for goal-directed behaviour. In complex tasks, compromised executive control may become manifest as decreased flexibility and sub-optimal planning. In the study we use the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Tower of London (TOL), which respectively measure flexibility (e.g., perseverative errors) and planning. A simple memory task was used as a control measure. Fatigue was induced through working for 2 h on cognitively demanding tasks. The results showed that compared to a non-fatigued group, fatigued participants displayed more perseveration on the WCST and showed prolonged planning time on the TOL. Fatigue did not affect performance on the simple memory task. These findings indicate compromised executive control under fatigue, which may explain the typical errors and sub-optimal performance that are often found in fatigued people.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

The impact of mental fatigue on exploration in a complex computer task: rigidity and loss of systematic strategies.

We investigated the impact of mental fatigue on exploration in a complex computer task. The exploration behavior of participants who underwent a fatigue manipulation (N = 36) was compared with that of a control (nonfatigued) group (N = 32). A distinction was also made between participants with high or low levels of general computer experience. Results showed that fatigued participants used significantly less systematic exploration and made more errors than did nonfatigued participants. Fatigued participants with low computer experience also showed significantly more rigid behavior than did the other participants. No differences were found on the number of subtasks solved. Compared with low-experience participants, highly experienced participants showed significantly more systematic exploration, less unsystematic trial and error, solved more subtasks, and made fewer errors (marginally significant p = .056). Findings were interpreted as the result of reduced task engagement under fatigue and reduced involvement of executive control on behavior. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidelines to prevent detrimental effects of mental fatigue on exploration behavior.

Adult↗