Chronotype and Time of Day Effects in Oddball Task Performance: Behavioural and Cerebral Correlates.

attention; chronotype; fMRI; fatigue; oddball task; synchrony effect; time of day; time on task; Medicine (all); Cognitive Neuroscience; Behavioral Neuroscience

Abstract :

[en] Circadian rhythms and inter-individual differences in sleep-wake preferences, or chronotypes, influence cognitive performance. The synchrony effect-the alignment of time of day with chronotype-modulates attention, memory, and executive control. This study examined behavioural and neural correlates of synchrony effects during an auditory oddball task performed in morning (1.5 h after wake-up) and evening (10.5 h after wake-up) sessions by extreme morning-type (n = 16) and evening-type (n = 15) young (age range: 22-32 y.o.) individuals. Behaviourally, no main, nor interaction effects of chronotype or time of day were observed for overall reaction time metrics (all p > 0.05). However, overall reaction times during the task were longer in the final third of the task in the evening compared to the morning session for morning but not evening types (p < 0.05). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed neural correlates underlying the synchrony effect: the inferior frontal cortex (IFC) showed higher task-related activation at optimal times (morning for morning types, evening for evening types, pcorr < 0.05), putatively reflecting enhanced top-down control. Conversely, a medial orbitofrontal region (mOFC), part of the default mode network, was more active at non-optimal times (pcorr < 0.05), consistent with reduced task engagement and internally directed processes. These findings suggest that synchrony effects interact with time-on-task-dependent effects with implications for sustained attention in real-world settings.

Research Center/Unit :

GIGA-SLEEP - GIGA CRC In vivo Imaging-Sleep and chronobiology - ULiège

Disciplines :

Neurology

Author, co-author :

Schmidt, Christina ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Psychologie > Neuropsychologie de l'adulte

Vandewalle, Gilles ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Sleep and chronobiology

Cajochen, Christian; Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Collette, Fabienne ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Psychologie > Neuropsychologie de l'adulte

Language :

English

Title :

Chronotype and Time of Day Effects in Oddball Task Performance: Behavioural and Cerebral Correlates.

Publication date :

15 June 2026

Journal title :

Journal of Sleep Research

ISSN :

0962-1105

eISSN :

1365-2869

Publisher :

John Wiley and Sons Inc, England

Pages :

e70391

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jsr.70391

Funders :

FRA - Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Maladie d'Alzheimer

Available on ORBi :

since 22 July 2026

Statistics

Number of views

77 (0 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

96 (0 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

Andrews-Hanna, J. R., J. S. Reidler, C. Huang, and R. L. Buckner. 2010. “Evidence for the Default Network's Role in Spontaneous Cognition.” Journal of Neurophysiology 104, no. 1: 322–335. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00830.2009.
Andrews-Hanna, J. R., J. Smallwood, and R. N. Spreng. 2014. “The Default Network and Self-Generated Thought: Component Processes, Dynamic Control, and Clinical Relevance.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1316, no. 1: 29–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12360.
Barclay, N. L., and A. Myachykov. 2017. “Sustained Wakefulness and Visual Attention: Moderation by Chronotype.” Experimental Brain Research 235, no. 1: 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4772-8.
Borragán, G., H. Slama, M. Bartolomei, and P. Peigneux. 2017. “Cognitive Fatigue: A Time-Based Resource-Sharing Account.” Cortex 89: 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.01.023.
Cajochen, C., and C. Schmidt. 2025. “The Circadian Brain and Cognition.” Annual Review of Psychology 76, no. 1: 115–141. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-022824-043825.
Deichmann, R., C. Schwarzbauer, and R. Turner. 2004. “Optimisation of the 3D MDEFT Sequence for Anatomical Brain Imaging: Technical Implications at 1.5 and 3 T.” NeuroImage 21, no. 2: 757–767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2003.09.062.
Giraudet, L., M. E. St-Louis, S. Scannella, and M. Causse. 2015. “P300 Event-Related Potential as an Indicator of Inattentional Deafness?” PLoS One 10, no. 2: e0118556. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118556.
Hasher, L., D. Goldstein, and C. P. May. 2005. “It's About Time: Circadian Rhythms, Memory, and Aging.” In Human Learning and Memory: Advances in Theory and Application, edited by C. Izawa and N. Ohta, 199–217. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Horne, J. A., and O. Ostberg. 1976. “A Self-Assessment Questionnaire to Determine Morningness-Eveningness in Human Circadian Rhythms.” International Journal of Chronobiology 4, no. 2: 97–110.
Johns, M. W. 1991. “A New Method for Measuring Daytime Sleepiness: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale.” Sleep 14, no. 6: 540. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/14.6.540.
Kim, H. 2014. “Involvement of the Dorsal and Ventral Attention Networks in Oddball Stimulus Processing: A Meta-Analysis.” Human Brain Mapping 35, no. 5: 2265–2284. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22326.
Lim, J., and D. F. Dinges. 2008. “Sleep Deprivation and Vigilant Attention.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1129: 305–322. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1417.002.
May, C. P. 1999. “Synchrony Effects in Cognition: The Costs and a Benefit.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 6, no. 1: 142–147. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03210822.
May, C. P., L. Hasher, and K. Healey. 2023. “For Whom (And When) the Time Bell Tolls: Chronotypes and the Synchrony Effect.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 18, no. 6: 1520–1536. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231178553.
Roenneberg, T., and M. Merrow. 2007. “Entrainment of the Human Circadian Clock.” Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 72: 293–299. https://doi.org/10.1101/sqb.2007.72.043.
Schmidt, C., F. Collette, C. Cajochen, and P. Peigneux. 2007. “A Time to Think: Circadian Rhythms in Human Cognition.” Cognitive Neuropsychology 24, no. 7: 755–789. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643290701754158.
Schmidt, C., F. Collette, Y. Leclercq, et al. 2009. “Homeostatic Sleep Pressure and Responses to Sustained Attention in the Suprachiasmatic Area.” Science 324, no. 5926: 516–519. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1167337.
Schmidt, C., F. Collette, C. F. Reichert, et al. 2015. “Pushing the Limits: Chronotype and Time of Day Modulate Working Memory-Dependent Cerebral Activity.” Frontiers in Neurology 25, no. 6: 199. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2015.00199.
Schmidt, C., P. Peigneux, C. Cajochen, and F. Collette. 2012. “Adapting Test Timing to the Sleep-Wake Schedule: Effects on Diurnal Neurobehavioral Performance Changes in Young Evening and Older Morning Chronotypes.” Chronobiology International 29, no. 4: 482–490. https://doi.org/10.3109/07420528.2012.658984.
Schmidt, C., P. Peigneux, Y. Leclercq, et al. 2012. “Circadian Preference Modulates the Neural Substrate of Conflict Processing Across the Day.” PLoS One 7, no. 1: e29658. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0029658.
See, J. E., S. R. Howe, J. S. Warm, and W. N. Dember. 1995. “Meta-Analysis of the Sensitivity Decrement in Vigilance.” Psychological Bulletin 117, no. 2: 230. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.2.230.
Taillard, J., P. Philip, O. Coste, P. Sagaspe, and B. Bioulac. 2003. “The Circadian and Homeostatic Modulation of Sleep Pressure During Wakefulness Differs Between Morning and Evening Chronotypes.” Journal of Sleep Research 12, no. 4: 275–282. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0962-1105.2003.00369.x.
Yoon, C., C. P. May, and L. Hasher. 2000. “Aging, Circadian Arousal Patterns, and Cognition.” In Cognitive Aging, edited by N. Schwarz, D. Park, B. Knauper, and S. Sudman, 117–143. Psychology Press.