Although the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) is commonly used in adult sleep research, normative data for PVT performance in children have not been published and performance in children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) has not been explored. This report describes PVT performance among children participating in the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea (TuCASA). A community-based sample of 360 Caucasian and Hispanic children completed a standard PVT trial. Participants were 48% female and 36% Hispanic; mean age was 8.9 years. Children with respiratory disturbance index (RDI) >1 event/hour and those with parent-reported sleep problems were excluded from the normative analysis. Among normal sleepers, performance on several measures improved with increasing age and differed between boys and girls. No ethnic differences were detected. Among children with SDB, no differences in performance were identified. Age and gender differences in PVT performance must be considered when the PVT is utilized in pediatric populations.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) command requested a sleep and performance study of the instructors and students of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 2- 16. Specifically, MAWTS-1 leadership wanted to know whether crew rest periods were being used for sleep and whether fatigue posed a risk to personnel during the course. This thesis expanded upon prior studies in military educational environments. The WTI 2-16 study collected sleep and performance data via wrist-worn actigraphy and psychomotor vigilance tests (PVT). Sleep duration and efficiency remained high throughout the course, but participation waned before the study ended. Both instructors and students appeared to receive adequate sleep of good quality (overall mean 7.4 hrs/night). There was little variability in the sleep patterns (i.e., WTI participants were abiding by the crew rest regulations). Compliance posed a significant challenge and limited the ability to correlate sleep to performance. We also measured self-reported fatigue and mood using standardized questionnaires. Results from subjective assessments showed a significant increase in self-reported fatigue as the course progressed. This thesis outlines a detailed methodology and lessons learned for follow-on studies of this type and recommends improvements to future studies. / Major, United States Marine Corps

This study employed multiple assessments, including sleep/resting waking EEG (visual scoring and power spectral analysis) and psychomotor vigilance task, to access effects of varying pulse-modulated microwaves (such as: 'talk', 'listen' and 'standby' mode signals) emitted from a standard mobile phone. The idea was prompted by a finding that the pulse modulation frequencies of mobile phone signals correspond to the frequencies of brain delta and alpha waves. Thereby it is possible the brain is able to recognize and respond to the low-frequency components of the mobile phone signals. Supporting evidence comes from repetitively reported EEG alpha and spindle effects of the 2, 8 and 217-Hz pulsed microwave exposure. Furthermore, brain imaging (EEG and PET) studies reveal 'low-frequency pulse-modulated waves' rather than the 'microwave frequency carrier waves' is the sine qua non for inducing these brain physiological effects [Huber et al., 2002, 2005; Regel et al., 2007a]. On the other hand, recent converging evidence, from molecular, behavioural and electrophysiological level, have shown that brain plasticity is a continuous process from waking to sleep and, sleep, a well-defined physiological condition, is 'shaped' by the waking experiences. The latter findings suggest certain sleep EEG features may characterize levels of cortical plasticity during wakefulness. The work presented in this thesis was inspired by these studies and aimed to understand how the real mobile phone signals with different low-frequency pulsing components [such as 'talk' (8, 217 Hz pulsed), 'listen' (2, 8, 217 Hz pulsed) and 'stand by' mode < 2 Hz pulsed)] change human brain electrical activities from waking to sleep. We approached this question based on EEG analysis in two domains: (1) EEG visual scoring; (2) EEG spectral analysis from relaxed waking to the deeper stages of non-NREM sleep. We also looked at the effects on the psychomotor vigilance performance. Results suggest 'talk' and 'Iisten/standby' modes have inverse effects on the distinctive thalamo-cortical oscillation modes and may thus impart inverse effects on their sleep structures. The implications of this study are of practical importance as it suggests the thalamo-cortical oscillations can be modulated by synchronizing rTMS/tDCS/DBS and sleeplwaking EEG. This concept may be applied to modulate the brain oscillation modes for enhancing sleep-dependent brain plastiCity or information processing.

輪班工作者除了睡眠片段化、睡眠品質降低等困擾外，工作時間的嗜睡與警醒度下降亦是常見問題，這些影響都可能跟輪班造成的內在晝夜節律與輪班工作時間的不一致有關。根據Minors & Waterhouse (1983)提出的定錨睡眠的概念，每天若能有四個小時在固定時間的睡眠，會有穩定內在晝夜節律、減少位移的效果，然而過去研究未曾探討定錨睡眠應用在輪班工作者的效果。因此，本研究的目的在於以模擬輪班的方式，比較採用定錨睡眠者與非定錨睡眠者在模擬輪班工作中的主觀嗜睡度、心理動作警覺度，以及睡眠指標，以探討定錨睡眠對於輪班工作者的睡眠與警覺度的影響，以期有助於輪班工作中的適應。 本研究採混合實驗設計，招募睡眠品質良好的受試者，並排除極端夜貓型或極端早晨型晝夜節律型態者，共包含20名受試者、依據性別配對隨機分派至定錨睡眠與無定錨睡眠組（各7名女性、3名男性，平均年齡24歲）。受試者需進行11天的模擬輪班，進行白班與大夜班的輪班；班表為：2天白班-1天休假-2天大夜班-1天休假-2天白班-1天休假-2天大夜班，受試者在實驗期間均配合配戴活動記錄儀與填寫睡眠日誌，並在第二次輪值的工作時間測量心理動作警覺作業（psychomotor vigilance task，PVT）與史丹福嗜睡度量表（Stanford Sleepiness Scale，SSS）。研究結果以三因子及雙因子變異數分析進行統計考驗。 研究結果發現在PVT的反應時間中位數與疏漏次數上，採用定錨睡眠者在白班至大夜班所增加的反應時間與疏漏次數低於非採用定錨睡眠者，且採用定錨睡眠者在工作時有較低的主觀嗜睡度、持平的主觀警醒度；在睡眠指標上，定錨睡眠組入睡後醒覺時數較短、夜班的主觀睡眠品質較佳。整體來說，研究結果顯示採用定錨睡眠能增進在工作中的心理動作警覺度、降低主觀嗜睡度，並促進睡眠的穩定度及夜班主觀睡眠品質，提供定錨睡眠運用在實際的輪班工作場域的初步證據。 / Sleep fragmentation, poor sleep quality, as well as sleepiness and decreased alertness at work are all common problems in shift workers. It is assumed that these problems are associated with the dyssynchronization of endogenous circadian rhythms and shift-work schedule. According to the concept of anchor sleep proposed by Minors & Waterhouse (1983), consistent sleep for few consecutive days can stabilize endogenous circadian rhythm and prevent the phase shift. However, previous studies have not investigate the effect of anchor sleep in shift workers . The current study used an experiment-manipulated shift work schedule to explore the effects of anchor sleep on sleep, sleepiness and psychomotor vigilance at work in a simulated shift work, in order to evaluate the possibility of applying anchor sleep in the assistance of adaption to shift work. Twenty participants with good sleep quality, intermediate types of morning-eveningness, were divided according to gender and randomly assigned to an anchor-group and a non-anchor-sleep control group (7 females and 3 males in each group, mean age 24). They were required to follow an eleven-day schedule that simulate the schedule of shift work. The subjects were required to wear actigraphy and keep sleep logs throughout the experimental period and their psychomotor vigilance and subjective sleepiness at the second work shifts were measured with psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS). The data was analyzed using three-way and two-way ANOVA. The data showed that PVT median reaction time and the number of lapses increased less from day-shift to night-shift in anchor sleeper, the anchor sleeper also had lower sleepiness, and more steady subjective alertness during the working time. Also, they had better subjective sleep quality in night-shift and shorter wake after sleep onset time than the control subjects. The findings of the current study suggest that anchor sleep can reduce the deterioration of subjective sleepiness and vigilance at work in shift workers, and maintain the sleep quality in night-shift. It provides preliminary evidence that support the use of anchor sleep in the assistance of the adjustment of shift work.

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