P025 Sleep deprivation effects on response inhibition: behavioral and ERP findings

Abstract Introduction Sleep deprivation (SD) has a detrimental impact on executive functioning, particularly on response inhibition (RI)—the cognitive ability to suppress impulsive or automatic responses in favor of goal-directed behavior (Schiller et al., 2014; Hung et al., 2018). This study examines how one night of total SD affects both the planning and execution phases of RI at behavioral and electrophysiological levels. Methods A within-subject experimental design was employed with 12 healthy young adults (aged 19–30). Each participant completed two conditions: following normal sleep and after one night of SD. Sleep quality was assessed using both subjective questionnaires and objective actigraphy. RI was evaluated using a Go-NoGo task developed in PsychoPy (version 3.0.2), allowing measurement of multiple components of inhibitory control. Results Behavioral findings indicated that SD led to significantly slower reaction times, reduced correct Go responses, and increased commission and omission errors. Performance improved following normal sleep, reflecting enhanced cognitive control and sustained attention. Electrophysiologically, SD was associated with attenuated amplitudes in the NoGo-N2 and NoGo-P3 components—key ERP markers of conflict monitoring and inhibitory control. Latency delays in these components further indicated slowed neural processing under SD (Chuah & Chee, 2008; Muto et al., 2012). Discussion These findings demonstrate that even a single night of sleep loss impairs both the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying response inhibition. The results emphasize the critical role of sleep in sustaining executive functions, particularly in contexts requiring rapid and accurate decision-making.