Understanding vigilance and its decrement: theoretical, contextual, and neural insights.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic search methodology or primary data
PubMed 42339255 · doi:10.3389/fcogn.2025.1617561
What was done
The authors conducted a narrative review clarifying the conceptual definition of vigilance and the vigilance decrement, distinguishing it from related constructs such as arousal, alertness, and sustained attention. The review synthesizes modulatory factors, current explanatory theories for performance decline over time, and structural and electrophysiological neural correlates.
What was found
The abstract presents a theoretical and conceptual framework; no empirical data, sample sizes, or numerical findings are reported.
Why it matters
Conceptual ambiguity around vigilance complicates research in operational settings and clinical populations with brain damage or developmental disorders. Clearer operational definitions and synthesis of neural correlates help standardize future mechanistic studies and intervention design.
Limits
This is a narrative review without systematic search protocols, formal study selection criteria, or quantitative synthesis. No primary human data or statistical estimates are provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Healthy brains experience a measurable decline in vigilance and target detection ability when performing monotonous, prolonged tasks.