Articles

It Is Time to Stop Using the Terminology "Passive" Fatigue 


La littérature sur la fatigue est large et contient beaucoup de concepts qui se recoupent, s'entremêlent et se superposent. Le terme de fatigue "passive", à opposer à la fatigue "active", est l'un de ces concepts. 

Dans cet article nous revenons donc sur le concept de fatigue "passive" en expliquant en quoi ce terme est incorrecte sémantiquement. En effet, les participants réalisant des tâches sensé induire de la fatigue "passive" restent actifs pendant toutes la durée de la tâche, afin notamment de répondre à des stimuli, même si ces derniers sont rares. 

Dans une deuxième partie, nous abordons comment les effets que la fatigue "passive" est sensé induire (baisse de performance) peuvent être mieux expliquer par les concepts d'ennui et de somnolence. 

Dans la dernière partie, nous faisons quelques recommandations pour de futurs recherches. Notamment, étant donné que la fatigue cognitive, l'ennui et la somnolence induisent des effets similaires, nous recommandons de les mesures de manière systématique, en se basant sur des définitions solides. 

Theoretical and methodological reflections on the concept of cognitive fatigue

In this article, we have focused on the concept of cognitive fatigue, also known as mental fatigue. After providing a definition, we have placed it in perspective with other similar concepts such as physical fatigue, central fatigue, and ego depletion. We have also addressed confounding variables commonly present in the literature.

In a second part, we examined various theories that attempt to explain cognitive fatigue, such as resource depletion, synaptic mechanisms, motivational orientation, and effort investment. We particularly discussed the possible synergy between these different explanations.

​We also addressed the methodologies used to study cognitive fatigue and the confounding variables that need to be controlled. Finally, we discussed the perspectives for future research, including ways to combat acute cognitive fatigue and pathologies that can exacerbate it.


To cite this article :  Mangin, T., Audiffren, M., & André, N. (2023). Réflexions théoriques et méthodologiques autour du concept de fatigue cognitive. Movement & Sport Sciences-Science & Motricité.


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A Plausible Link Between Time-on-Task Effect and Sequential Task Effect 

The literature on mental fatigue is vast. Two main protocols are used to study it. The first is the time-on-task protocol, where individuals perform a long task requiring sustained attention. It is common to observe a decline in performance with time on task (unless training has been done beforehand, which will initially improve performance due to the training and then deteriorate due to mental fatigue). The second is the sequential task protocol, where individuals first perform a demanding task (or a control task that requires little or no effort) and then a second equally demanding task. It is common to observe a decline in performance in the second task when the first task was highly demanding. This decline in performance is typically attributed to the presence of mental fatigue.
In this study, we combined the two protocols and found a positive but not very high correlation (r = .272) between performance on the two tasks, indicating a common mechanism between the two declines in performance. This mechanism could be mental fatigue. However, there is still a large portion that is not shared between the two phenomena that remains to be explained.

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To cite this article:  Mangin, T., Audiffren, M., Lorcery, A., Mirabelli, F., Benraiss, A., & André, N. (2022). A plausible link between the time-on-task effect and the sequential task effect.  Frontiers in psychology 13 , 998393.




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No Ego Depletion Without a Good Control Task

Ego-depletion is a phenomenon that has been widely studied for over 20 years. However, many studies have been unable to replicate the effect. In this article, we were interested in the necessary conditions for the emergence of the phenomenon. In a first experiment, we attempted to replicate the ego-depletion effect under the best conditions according to our knowledge (i.e., a long and difficult task that heavily taxed executive functions), but were unable to do so. However, we noticed that the control task used (which is regularly used in the literature) induced a lot of boredom in participants.  

In a second experiment, we looked for a new control task that was as neutral as possible and could be used in the future, and compared it to the control task used in the first experiment.  

In a third study, we used this new control task and were able to replicate the ego-depletion effect. We also noticed that the boredom felt in the exhausting task accounted for part of the variance in the ego-depletion effect.  


To cite this article:  Mangin, T., André, N., Benraiss, A., Pageaux, B., & Audiffren, M. (2021). No ego-depletion effect without a good control task.  Psychology of Sport and Exercise 57 , 102033.


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Posters


Effects of Acute Muscle Pain and External Thermal Pain on a Fixed Perceived Effort Motor Task


Dans cette étude, les participants devaient serrer une poignée de serrage dynamométrique (handgrip) a un certain niveau d'effort perçu, sans feedback visuel. Nous avons mis en évidence qu'en présence de douleur, la force produite augmentée, alors que le participant garde le même niveau d'effort. Ceci va à l'encontre de nos hypothèses. 


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Does a mental task can influence your physical performance? The negative effect of the control condition.


This poster was a first presentation of the article "Mangin et al., 2021. No Ego Depletion Without a Good Control Task" at the European Congress of Sport Sciences.  


To cite this poster: Mangin, T., André, N., Benraïss, A., Audiffren, M., (2019). Does a mental task can influence your physical performance? The negative effect of the control condition. Poster in European Congress of Sport Sciences. Prague University, Tcheque Republic, July, 3-6th.