Search

The prevalence of mental fatigue is a noteworthy phenomenon that can affect individuals across diverse professions and working routines. This paper provides a comprehensive dataset of physiological signals obtained from 23 participants during their professional work and questionnaires to analyze mental fatigue. The questionnaires included demographic information and Chalder Fatigue Scale scores indicating mental and physical fatigue. Both physiological signal measurements and the Chalder Fatigue Scale were performed in two sessions, morning and evening. The present dataset encompasses diverse physiological signals, including electroencephalogram (EEG), blood volume pulse (BVP), electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate (HR), skin temperature (TEMP), and 3-axis accelerometer (ACC) data. The NeuroSky MindWave EEG device was used for brain signals, and the Empatica E4 smart wristband was used for other signals. Measurements were carried out on individuals from four different occupational groups, such as academicians, technicians, computer engineers, and kitchen workers. The provision of comprehensive metadata supplements the dataset, thereby promoting inquiries about the neurophysiological concomitants of mental fatigue, autonomic activity patterns, and the repercussions of a cognitive burden on human proficiency in actual workplace settings. The accessibility of the aforementioned dataset serves to facilitate progress in the field of mental fatigue research while also laying the groundwork for the creation of customized fatigue evaluation techniques and interventions in diverse professional domains.

Introduction: The prevalence of fatigue in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) can be as high as 50 %. Physical, mental, and psychosocial components of fatigue negatively impact quality of life (QOL), morbidity and mortality. Several tools have been developed to address fatigue, but none specifically for measuring fatigue in DM. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of diabetes and neuropathy on fatigue using the Norfolk QOL-Fatigue (QOL-F) survey. Methods: 605 adult participants from [Anonymous] were recruited (400 subjects with type 1 or type 2 DM and 205 subjects without diabetes (controls)). All subjects completed the Norfolk QOL-F. Demographics, weight, BMI, and duration of diabetes were obtained. The Norfolk QOL-F, a 35-item validated questionnaire, assesses five domains: subjective fatigue, physical and cognitive fatigue, reduced activities, impaired activities of daily living, and depression. Results: Subjects with DM reported significantly higher fatigue total scores (52.63vs33.89, p

Effective learning from performance feedback is vital for adaptive behavior regulation necessary for successful cognitive performance. Yet, how this learning operates in clinical groups that experience cognitive dysfunction is not well understood. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by physical and cognitive dysfunction. A highly prevalent impairment in MS is cognitive fatigue (CF). CF is associated with altered functioning within cortico-striatal regions that also facilitate feedback-based learning in neurotypical (NT) individuals. Despite this cortico-striatal overlap, research about feedback-based learning in MS, its associated neural underpinnings, and its sensitivity to CF, are all lacking. The present study investigated feedback-based learning ability in MS, as well as associated cortico-striatal function and connectivity. MS and NT participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paired-word association task during which they received trial-by-trial monetary, non-monetary, and uninformative performance feedback. Despite reporting greater CF throughout the task, MS participants displayed comparable task performance to NTs, suggesting preserved feedback-based learning ability in the MS group. Both groups recruited the ventral striatum (VS), caudate nucleus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in response to the receipt of performance feedback, suggesting that people with MS also recruit cortico-striatal regions during feedback-based learning. However, compared to NT participants, MS participants also displayed stronger functional connectivity between the VS and task-relevant regions, including the left angular gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus, in response to feedback receipt. Results indicate that CF may not interfere with feedback-based learning in MS. Nonetheless, people with MS may recruit alternative connections with the striatum to assist with this form of learning. These findings have implications for cognitive rehabilitation treatments that incorporate performance feedback to remediate cognitive dysfunction in clinical populations.

Acute mental fatigue, characterized by a transient decline in cognitive efficiency during or following prolonged cognitive tasks, can be managed through adaptive effort deployment. In response to mental fatigue, individuals can employ two main behavioral patterns: engaging a compensatory effort to limit performance decrements, or disengaging effort, leading to performance deterioration. This study investigated the behavioral pattern used by participants in mental fatigue conditions. Fifty participants underwent a sequential-task protocol with counterbalanced sessions who took place in two separate sessions: a 30-min incongruent Stroop task (fatiguing session) or a 30-min documentary viewing task (control session), followed by a time-to-exhaustion (TTE) handgrip task at 13 % of maximal voluntary contraction. Psychophysiological measures included the preejection period, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and respiration. Behavioral results showed deteriorated TTE handgrip performance after the Stroop task compared to after the documentary viewing task. During the Stroop task participants were more conservative and prioritized accuracy over speed. Self-reported fatigue was greater after the Stroop task. Psychophysiological data revealed a gradual decrease in sympathetic activity over time in both tasks, with the Stroop task showing a more pronounced decrease. Taken together, these findings suggest a disengagement of effort for a large proportion of participants (49 %) that could be partly attributed to a habituation to the demands of the Stroop task. This study illustrates the interplay of behavioral patterns of effort investment in the context of mental fatigue and underscores the role of disengagement as a dominant response to this phenomenon among healthy participants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Mental fatigue has been highly cited as having a negative impact on endurance performance. Few, however, have investigated whether different types of mental fatigue, namely active and passive fatigue, might affect endurance performance differently. This study used a repeated-measures design where 11 participants completed a 3 km run after three 32-min conditions: an actively fatiguing task (Task-load Dual-back; TloadDback); a passively fatiguing task (Mackworth Clock); and a control task (Documentary). Subjective ratings and performance on a second task (Flanker task) were taken before and after the 32-min tasks, while ratings of perceived effort, motivation and workload were taken during the 3 km run. Results showed that both fatigue conditions were mentally fatiguing, with the TloadDback rated as more demanding and the Mackworth Clock more boring and less motivating. Performance on subsequent tasks showed different effects: the TloadDback condition had the slowest responses on the post-test Flanker task, while the Mackworth Clock condition had the slowest completion time on the 3 km run, though this difference in completion times was non-significant. These results suggest that different cognitive tasks lead to different types of mental fatigue, which can lead to different outcomes on subsequent cognitive tasks but non-significant differences on subsequent physical tasks. This study highlights that to understand the influence of mental fatigue on physical performance, it is important to understand the cognitive tasks used and how different cognitive and physical tasks interact. Future work should examine whether performance outcomes in other areas commonly affected by mental fatigue, like technical and tactical sporting skills, are affected differently by active and passive fatigue., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This work was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. There are no relationships to disclose. There are no patents to disclose. There are no additional activities to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Cognitive resources contribute to balance control. There is evidence that mental fatigue reduces cognitive resources and impairs balance performance, particularly in older adults and when balance tasks are complex, for example when trying to walk or stand while concurrently performing a secondary cognitive task.We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify eligible studies and performed a random effects meta-analysis to quantify the effects of experimentally induced mental fatigue on balance performance in healthy adults. Subgroup analyses were computed for age (healthy young vs. healthy older adults) and balance task complexity (balance tasks with high complexity vs. balance tasks with low complexity) to examine the moderating effects of these factors on fatigue-mediated balance performance.We identified 7 eligible studies with 9 study groups and 206 participants. Analysis revealed that performing a prolonged cognitive task had a small but significant effect (SMDwm = −0.38) on subsequent balance performance in healthy young and older adults. However, age- and task-related differences in balance responses to fatigue could not be confirmed statistically.Overall, aggregation of the available literature indicates that mental fatigue generally reduces balance in healthy adults. However, interactions between cognitive resource reduction, aging and balance task complexity remain elusive.

Cognitive fatigue is an alteration in central nervous system (CNS) processing due to prolonged performance of mentally demanding tasks. Decreased gait speed and increased stride length variability have been noted in cognitively fatigued older adults (≥65 years). Further, cognitive fatigue may weaken the visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems of the CNS, contributing to increased postural sway. Detriments in gait and sway caused by cognitive fatigue could increase fall risk. The objective of this literature review was to evaluate the impact of cognitive fatigue on changes in gait and postural sway and its role in fall risk.

Effective learning from performance feedback is vital for adaptive behavior regulation necessary for successful cognitive performance. Yet, how this learning operates in clinical groups that experience cognitive dysfunction is not well understood. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by physical and cognitive dysfunction. A highly prevalent impairment in MS is cognitive fatigue (CF). CF is associated with altered functioning within cortico-striatal regions that also facilitate feedback-based learning in neurotypical (NT) individuals. Despite this cortico-striatal overlap, research about feedback-based learning in MS, its associated neural underpinnings, and its sensitivity to CF, are all lacking. The present study investigated feedback-based learning ability in MS, as well as associated cortico-striatal function and connectivity. MS and NT participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paired-word association task during which they received trial-by-trial monetary, non-monetary, and uninformative performance feedback. Despite reporting greater CF throughout the task, MS participants displayed comparable task performance to NTs, suggesting preserved feedback-based learning ability in the MS group. Both groups recruited the ventral striatum (VS), caudate nucleus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in response to the receipt of performance feedback, suggesting that people with MS also recruit cortico-striatal regions during feedback-based learning. However, compared to NT participants, MS participants also displayed stronger functional connectivity between the VS and task-relevant regions, including the left angular gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus, in response to feedback receipt. Results indicate that CF may not interfere with feedback-based learning in MS. Nonetheless, people with MS may recruit alternative connections with the striatum to assist with this form of learning. These findings have implications for cognitive rehabilitation treatments that incorporate performance feedback to remediate cognitive dysfunction in clinical populations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Cognitive fatigability is a frequent symptom after sustained performance. Fatigability is evident in healthy subjects but is also often comorbid in several neuropsychiatric diseases. However, to date, clinical diagnostic almost solely relies on the self-reported subjective experience of fatigue. The goals of this present study were i) to complement the purely subjective fatigue diagnostic with objective electrophysiological fatigability parameters and ii) to prove the potential therapeutic application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a fatigability intervention., Methods: We performed a pseudo-randomized, sham-controlled, parallel-group trial. Forty healthy participants received either anodal or sham tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) while they performed an exhaustive cognitive task to induce cognitive fatigability. To assess fatigability changes, we analyzed variations of prepulse inhibition (PPI) and P50 suppression as well as frontomedial theta and occipital alpha power with time-on-task., Results: The task reliably induced subjective exhaustion in all participants. Furthermore, we confirmed fatigability-related increases in frontomedial theta and occipital alpha power throughout the task. Additionally, fatigability significantly reduced PPI as well as P50 sensory gating. Anodal tDCS over the left DLPFC successfully counteracted fatigability and reduced the fatigability-related increase in alpha power as well as the decline in both gating parameters., Conclusion: Occipital alpha and sensorimotor/sensory gating are suitable parameters to assess the severity of fatigability objectively. Anodal tDCS can counteract fatigability and has therapeutic potential for the treatment of fatigability in neuropsychiatric diseases., Significance: Fatigability can be objectively assessed by electrophysiological measures and attenuated by tDCS., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mental fatigue is known to increase subjective feelings of fatigue and to decrease cognitive performance, but its impact on physical performance remains poorly understood. The aim of this chapter was to review the results of 29 studies published between 2009 and April 2018 and focusing on the impact of mental fatigue on sport-related performance. Taken all studies together, it appears that mental fatigue impairs endurance performance, motor skills performance and decision-making performance. However, maximal force production is not reduced in the presence of mental fatigue. These observations suggest that mental fatigue impairs sport-related performance during exercises performed at a submaximal intensity and not during exercises performed at maximal and supramaximal intensity. The negative impact of mental fatigue on submaximal exercises seems to be mediated by an increase in perception of effort. Future studies should now identify the physiological alterations induced by mental fatigue and responsible of the increased perceived effort., (© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study used reaction time (RT) as an objective marker of cognitive fatigue and fatigability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS)., Method: RT was measured in fifteen healthy controls and in thirty MS patients with cognitive fatigue identified with the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Function (FSMC). Secondary fatigue was excluded through the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. RT was measured at rest (t1), following a 2.5 hour test session inducing high cognitive load (t2), and a one hour recovery period (t3)., Results: At rest mean RT was longer in patients than in controls (391 ms vs 205 ms). After exerting cognitive load (t2), RT in patients increased dramatically but remained unchanged in controls. After the recovery period (t3), RT returned to baseline levels in most patients. Patients further showed a significant correlation between RT and FMSC scores at t1, t2 and t3., Conclusion: RT performance is a suitable surrogate marker for assessing fatigue. RT is sensitive to cognitive load and the recovery from cognitive demand. It hence represents an objective index for fatigability which can inform the management and treatment of MS., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Fatigue presents as a significant problem in multiple sclerosis (MS). Cognitive fatigue (CF) can be defined as a decrease in, or inability to maintain task performance throughout the duration of a continuous cognitive task. CF was evaluated using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) both pre- and post-immunoablation and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (IA-HSCT) over a 3-year follow-up period. The magnitude of CF was examined and the impact of scoring methodology was evaluated., Methods: Twenty-three individuals with rapidly progressive MS and poor prognosis underwent high dose immunosuppression and subsequent HSCT. Individuals completed the 3″ and 2″ PASAT at baseline and every 6 months thereafter over a period of 36 months. As scoring methodology can impact its sensitivity to CF, the PASAT was scored according to three scoring methods., Results: CF was noted across all three scoring methods at baseline and at the majority of time points post-IA-HSCT on both the 3″ and 2″ PASAT. The magnitude of CF remained consistent both pre-and post-IA-HSCT., Conclusions: While results suggest that the procedure itself does not ameliorate an individual's susceptibility to CF; neither does it seem to negatively impact levels of CF. As such, results support the notion that the IA-HSCT procedure, despite its aggressive nature, does not exacerbate CF in this particular sample., (© 2013.)