Search results for "Wakefulness"
showing 5 items of 75 documents
Spontaneous Nocturnal Erections - Physiology and Clinical Applications. Spontane nachtliche Erektionen - Physiologie und klinische Anwendungen
2005
Spontaneous nocturnal erections in men are a well-known phenomenon whose physiology however is not yet really understood. The measurement of nocturnal erections has gained clinical relevance for the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction because it allows an objective and quantitative assessment of the erectile capacity. A decisive advantage compared to other diagnostic tests carried out during wakefulness is the exclusion of psychological factors to a great extent. Thus, an evaluation of the organic component of an erectile dysfunction is possible. Regarding the interpretation of nocturnal erection records, various factors possibly influencing the results must be considered; this is particularl…
Self-reported reasons for on-duty sleepiness among commercial airline pilots
2021
Experimental and epidemiological research has shown that human sleepiness is determined especially by the circadian and homeostatic processes. The present field study examined which work-related factors airline pilots perceive as causing on-duty sleepiness during short-haul and long-haul flights. In addition, the association between the perceived reasons for sleepiness and actual sleepiness levels was examined, as well as the association between reporting inadequate sleep causing sleepiness and actual sleep-wake history. The study sample consisted of 29 long-haul (LH) pilots, 28 short-haul (SH) pilots, and 29 mixed fleet pilots (flying both SH and LH flights), each of whom participated in a…
How brain-computer interface technology may improve the diagnosis of the disorders of consciousness: A comparative study
2022
ObjectiveClinical assessment of consciousness relies on behavioural assessments, which have several limitations. Hence, disorder of consciousness (DOC) patients are often misdiagnosed. In this work, we aimed to compare the repetitive assessment of consciousness performed with a clinical behavioural and a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) approach.Materials and methodsFor 7 weeks, sixteen DOC patients participated in weekly evaluations using both the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) and a vibrotactile P300 BCI paradigm. To use the BCI, patients had to perform an active mental task that required detecting specific stimuli while ignoring other stimuli. We analysed the reliability and the effic…
Epidemiology, Physiology and Clinical Approach to Sleepiness at the Wheel in OSA Patients: A Narrative Review
2022
Sleepiness at the wheel (SW) is recognized as an important factor contributing to road traffic accidents, since up to 30 percent of fatal accidents have been attributed to SW. Sleepiness-related motor vehicle accidents may occur both from falling asleep while driving and from behavior impairment attributable to sleepiness. SW can be caused by various sleep disorders but also by behavioral factors such as sleep deprivation, shift work and non-restorative sleep, as well as chronic disease or the treatment with drugs that negatively affect the level of vigilance. An association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and motor vehicle accidents has been found, with an increasing risk in OSA pati…
Sustaining Attention for a Prolonged Duration Affects Dynamic Organizations of Frequency-Specific Functional Connectivity
2020
Sustained attention encompasses a cascade of fundamental functions. The human ability to implement a sustained attention task is supported by brain networks that dynamically formed and dissolved through oscillatory synchronization. The decrement of vigilance induced by prolonged task engagement affects sustained attention. However, little is known about which stage or combinations are affected by vigilance decrement. Here, we applied an analysis framework composed of weighted phase lag index (wPLI) and tensor component analysis (TCA) to an EEG dataset collected during 80 min sustained attention task to examine the electrophysiological basis of such effect. We aimed to characterize the phase…