Chronotype and time of day as modulators of attention-dependent cognitive processes

Abstract

Chronotype as a trait within individual differences together with the time of day has proven to influence the cognitive performance of individuals. In the present doctoral thesis, we delve into the circadian modulation of these variables on attentional subfunctions allowing, on the one hand, to better characterize them and, on the other, to investigate several techniques that may optimize performance when outside the optimal time of day with respect to chronotype. The experimental series of 4 studies we propose is based, first of all, on Michael Posner’s theory of attentional networks. In this case, we focus on the study of vigilance in interaction with executive control (Study 1), and on the different components that compose the former (i.e., arousal and executive) also in interaction with the menstrual cycle (Study 2). Secondly, from Schneider and Shiffrin’s proposal on automatic and controlled processing, we approach the time course of both processes based on the semantic-priming paradigm (Study 3), and, in a novel way, we use the Self-Attentional Network paradigm in Study 4 to delve into the potential modulating role of circadian rhythms over processes demanding automatic or controlled strategies of response.