Section 1 - Basic Mechanisms: Cognitive Performance and Sleep

Summary

The logic behind sleep deprivation studies is basically sound. The first problem is that sleep is a process that not only occurs in the brain, but is also a process that undoubtedly confers unique benefits to the brain itself. In the parlance familiar to those who are afflicted with a degree in experimental psychology and have thus been subjected to a course in "The Philosophy of Science", the scientific paradigm under which sleep deprivation research is conducted contains some conceptual gaps. The difficulty is as follows: extended continuous wakefulness is an antecedent condition that leads to a predictable, observable outcome: decremented performance. Results from studies conducted to determine the effects of sleep loss on various neurocognitive abilities have proven useful for informing policy, and decision-making in a variety of operational and regulatory environments, and the utilitarian value of such studies for testing work/rest schedules and drug effects remains high.