Sleep deprivation: sensitivity comparison between a visuomotor tracking task and the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT)

Sleep deprivation: sensitivity comparison between a visuomotor tracking task and the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sleep deprivation: sensitivity comparison between a visuomotor tracking task and the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) Morgane Meyer, Laure Lejeune, Daniel Zuba, Claire Giot, Nicolas Benguigui, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7231113/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Psychological Research → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is the most widely used test to assess vigilance, thanks to its short administration time and 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 condition differences, and Spearman correlations evaluated relationships between variables from both tests. The MTTT outcome measures showed significant differences across conditions, with the TE standard deviation emerging as the most sensitive metric (r = 0.58). For the PVT, the mean 1/RT (r = 0.80), 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. While the MTTT detected vigilance decline, its sensitivity appeared limited to severe states, such as total sleep deprivation. In contrast, the PVT demonstrated higher sensitivity to sleep deprivation overall. Therefore, although the MTTT offers an advantage for continuous monitoring, the PVT remains the more effective test for detecting vigilance decline. Vigilance Psychomotor Vigilance Test Visuomotor Tracking Task Sleep Deprivation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Psychological Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 12 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 28 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7231113","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":503671734,"identity":"176d49d4-8505-4ad1-909e-0400a0bbae8c","order_by":0,"name":"Morgane 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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\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;20.16\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;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 condition differences, and Spearman correlations evaluated relationships between variables from both tests. The MTTT outcome measures showed significant differences across conditions, with the TE standard deviation emerging as the most sensitive metric (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.58). For the PVT, the mean 1/RT (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.80), 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. While the MTTT detected vigilance decline, its sensitivity appeared limited to severe states, such as total sleep deprivation. In contrast, the PVT demonstrated higher sensitivity to sleep deprivation overall. Therefore, although the MTTT offers an advantage for continuous monitoring, the PVT remains the more effective test for detecting vigilance decline.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Sleep deprivation: sensitivity comparison between a visuomotor tracking task and the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-29 16:36:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7231113/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-10-17T08:34:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-15T12:49:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-29T17:04:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"158918437701620092473391958489750186281","date":"2025-09-22T12:32:54+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"290979151215526149957963184972603866473","date":"2025-09-02T17:11:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-21T12:32:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-12T10:39:43+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-07-29T02:42:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Psychological Research","date":"2025-07-28T07:43:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"psychological-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"prpf","sideBox":"Learn more about [Psychological Research](http://link.springer.com/journal/426)","snPcode":"426","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/426/3","title":"Psychological Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a1b7eb6b-2424-47bb-b496-7597a0b0f33e","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 29th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-20T16:07:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7231113","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-026-02289-3","journal":{"identity":"psychological-research","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Psychological Research"},"publishedOn":"2026-04-18 15:58:04","publishedOnDateReadable":"April 18th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-29 16:36:16","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s00426-026-02289-3","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-026-02289-3","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7231113","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7231113","identity":"rs-7231113","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}