Sleep deprivation: sensitivity comparison between a visuomotor tracking task and the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT).

The Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is the most widely used test to assess vigilance, as it combines rapid administration with high sensitivity. However, as a reaction-time (RT) based test, it does not allow for continuous performance monitoring. This study evaluates the sensitivity of a continuous task, the Moving Target Tracking Task (MTTT), to sleep deprivation and compares its performance to that of the PVT. Twenty-five participants (5 women; mean age = 20.16 ± 2.07 years) completed a 10-minute MTTT and a 10-minute PVT at 9:30 PM and again at 5:30 AM after a night of total sleep deprivation. The MTTT consists of tracking a bouncing ball using a joystick, with the tracking error (TE) as the primary outcome measure. Wilcoxon tests and effect sizes (r) were computed to assess effects of testing-time (before vs. after sleep deprivation), and Spearman correlations evaluated relationships between variables from both tests. MTTT outcome measures showed significant differences across testing-time, with the TE standard deviation emerging as the most sensitive metric (r = .58). For the PVT, the mean 1/RT (r = .80), showed the largest effect size. No correlation was found between PVT and MTTT variables before sleep deprivation, but strong correlations appeared between most variables after it. These results highlight differences between the two tests, which are discussed in relation to the subdivision of vigilance in an executive and an arousal component.