Abstract：
The vigilance decrement, a temporal decline in detection performance, has been observed across multiple sensory modalities. Spatial uncertainty about the location of task-relevant stimuli has been demonstrated to increase the demands of vigilance and increase the severity of the vigilance decrement when attending to visual displays. The current study investigated whether spatial uncertainty also increases the severity of the vigilance decrement and task demands when an auditory display is used. Individuals monitored an auditory display to detect critical signals that were shorter in duration than non-target stimuli. These auditory stimuli were presented in either a consistent, predictable pattern that alternated sound presentation from left to right (spatial certainty) or an inconsistent, unpredictable pattern that randomly presented sounds from the left or right (spatial uncertainty). Cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) was measured to assess the neurophysiological demands of the task. A decline in performance and CBFV was observed in both the spatially certain and spatially uncertain conditions, suggesting that spatial auditory vigilance tasks are demanding and can result in a vigilance decrement. Spatial uncertainty resulted in a more severe vigilance decrement in correct detections compared to spatial certainty. Reduced right-hemispheric CBFV was also observed during spatial uncertainty compared to spatial certainty. Together, these results suggest that auditory spatial uncertainty hindered performance and required greater attentional demands compared to spatial certainty. These results concur with previous research showing the negative impact of spatial uncertainty in visual vigilance tasks, but the current results contrast recent research showing no effect of spatial uncertainty on tactile vigilance.
摘要：
警惕性下降，检测性能的暂时下降，已经在多种感官模式中观察到。已证明与任务相关的刺激位置的空间不确定性会增加警惕性的要求，并在关注视觉显示时增加警惕性下降的严重程度。当前的研究调查了使用听觉显示器时，空间不确定性是否也会增加警惕性下降的严重程度和任务要求。个人监测听觉显示器以检测持续时间比非目标刺激短的关键信号。这些听觉刺激以一致的方式呈现，可预测的模式，从左到右交替的声音呈现（空间确定性）或不一致，从左边或右边随机呈现声音的不可预测的模式（空间不确定性）。测量脑血流速度（CBFV）以评估任务的神经生理需求。在空间确定和空间不确定的条件下，都观察到性能和CBFV下降，这表明空间听觉警戒任务要求很高，可能导致警戒下降。与空间确定性相比，空间不确定性导致正确检测的警惕性下降更严重。与空间确定性相比，在空间不确定性期间还观察到右半球CBFV降低。一起,这些结果表明，与空间确定性相比，听觉空间不确定性阻碍了性能，需要更多的注意力需求。这些结果与先前的研究一致，表明空间不确定性在视觉警惕任务中的负面影响，但是当前的结果与最近的研究相比，该研究表明空间不确定性对触觉警惕性没有影响。
