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. 2022 Mar 16:14:457-473.
doi: 10.2147/NSS.S342922. eCollection 2022.

Effects of Caffeine Intake on Cognitive Performance Related to Total Sleep Deprivation and Time on Task: A Randomized Cross-Over Double-Blind Study

Michael Quiquempoix  1   2 , Fabien Sauvet  1   2 , Mégane Erblang  1   2   3 , Pascal Van Beers  1   2 , Mathias Guillard  1   2 , Catherine Drogou  1   2 , Aurélie Trignol  1   2 , Anita Vergez  1   2 , Damien Léger  2   4 , Mounir Chennaoui  1   2 , Danielle Gomez-Merino  1   2 , Arnaud Rabat  1   2
Affiliations

Effects of Caffeine Intake on Cognitive Performance Related to Total Sleep Deprivation and Time on Task: A Randomized Cross-Over Double-Blind Study

Michael Quiquempoix et al. Nat Sci Sleep. .

Abstract

Introduction: It is widely admitted that both total sleep deprivation (TSD) and extended task engagement (Time-On-Task, TOT) induce a cognitive fatigue state in healthy subjects. Even if EEG theta activity and adenosine both increase with cognitive fatigue, it remains unclear if these modifications are common mechanisms for both sustained attention and executive processes.

Methods: We performed a double-blind counter-balanced (placebo (PCBO) and caffeine (CAF) - 2×2.5 mg/kg/24 h)) study on 24 healthy subjects (33.7 ± 5.9 y). Subjects participated in an experimental protocol including an habituation/training day followed by a baseline day (D0 and D1) and a total sleep deprivation (TSD) day beginning on D1 at 23:00 until D2 at 21:00. Subjects performed the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) assessing sustained attention, followed by the executive Go-NoGo inhibition task and the 2-NBack working memory task at 09:15 on D1 and D2.

Results: We showed differential contributions of TSD and TOT on deficits in sustained attention and both executive processes. An alleviating effect of caffeine intake is only observed on sustained attention deficits related to TSD and not at all on TOT effect. The caffeine dose slows down the triggering of sustained attention deficits related to TOT effect.

Discussion: These results suggest that sustained attention deficits induced by TSD rely on the adenosinergic mechanism whereas TOT effect observed for both sustained attention and executive would not.

Keywords: caffeine; cognitive fatigue; healthy subjects; inhibition; mental fatigue; sustained attention; time on task; total sleep deprivation; working memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Damien Léger reports grants from Sanofi, grants from Idorsia, grants from Jazz, grants from Bioserenity, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other potential conflicts of interest for this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design. It includes an habituation/training day followed by a baseline day (D0 and D1) and a total sleep deprivation (TSD) day beginning on D1 at 23:00 until D2 at 21:00. Subjects completed the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and then performed cognitive tests at 09:15 on D1 and D2 (26h of awakening), and EEG was recorded during each test. (↓) 08:30 and 14:30, Placebo or caffeine (2.5 mg/kg).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Caffeine reduces TSD-related sustained attention deficits without any effects on TOT (A) Kinetic of the number of lapses min−1 as a function of time during the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) at D2 (after total sleep deprivation (TSD)) for both placebo (PCBO, black) and caffeine (CAF, red) conditions, fitted with a linear regression. Shaded areas show time points of interest further analyzed: the first 3 min (0–3 min) and the last 3 min (7–10 min) of test. (B) Number of lapses min−1 during the first and the last 3 min of PVT at D2 for PCBO and CAF conditions. Error bars show s.e.m. *Significant difference between 0–3 min and 7–10 min of the test (*p<0.05; **p<0.01). #Significant difference between PCBO and CAF conditions (#p<0.05). (C) Algebraic difference in the number of lapses min−1 between 0–3 min and 7–10 min of the task for both PCBO and CAF conditions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Lack of alleviating effects of caffeine on inhibition impairments related to TSD and TOT. (A) Kinetic of rate of No-Go errors (response on « No-Go » trials) during the Go/No-Go task at D2 (after TSD) for both placebo (PCBO, black) and caffeine (CAF, red) conditions, fitted with a linear regression. Shaded areas show the first 3 min (0–3 min) and the last 3 min (7–10 min) of test. (B) Rate of No-Go errors during the first and the last 3 min of test at D2 for both PCBO and CAF. Error bars show s.e.m. *Significant difference between 0–3 min and 7–10 min of the test (**p<0.01; ***p<0.001). #Significant difference between PCBO and CAF conditions (#p<0.05). (C) Algebraic difference in the rate of No-Go errors between the first and the last 3 min for both PCBO and CAF conditions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
No beneficial effects of caffeine on working memory decrement after TSD and TOT (A) Kinetic of percentage of correct answers for the 2N-Back conditions at D2 (after TSD) for both placebo (PCBO, black) and caffeine (CAF, red) conditions, fitted with a linear regression. Shaded areas show the first 3 min (0–3 min) and the last 3 min (7–10 min) of test. (B) Percentage of correct answers during the first and last 3 min of test at D2 for both PCBO and CAF conditions. Error bars show s.e.m. *Significant difference between 0–3 min of 7–10 min (*p<0.05; **p<0.01). (C) Algebraic difference of rate of correct answers between the first 3 min and the last 3 min for PCBO and CAF conditions.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Caffeine and TOT effects on theta activity during the three cognitive tasks after TSD. On the left panel (A–C), topographical EEG representation of Time-On-Task (TOT) and caffeine significant (black in bold) or not significant (grey) effects at D2 (after TSD), and on the right panel (D–F), bar histograms of raw theta power in the 3 regions of interest (ROI) of the first 3 min and of the last 3 min, for PVT (upper), Go-NoGo (middle) and 2N-Back (lower). Anova p-values; ap<0.05, bp<0.01.
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