ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Cognition

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1561819

Is a Single Calibration for the TloadDback Cognitive Fatigue Induction Task Reliable?

Provisionally accepted
Jeromy Michael HraboveckyJeromy Michael Hrabovecky1,2*Xavier De TiègeXavier De Tiège1,2Chloé SamynChloé Samyn2Guillermo BorragánGuillermo Borragán2Philippe PeigneuxPhilippe Peigneux2Mélanie StraussMélanie Strauss1Hichem SlamaHichem Slama1,2
  • 1Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
  • 2Laboratoire de cartographie cérébrale fonctionnelle, Institut des Neurosciences de l'ULB, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

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The TloadDback task was introduced as a novel task for inducing cognitive fatigue by accounting for the cognitive capacity of each individual's processing time needs (stimulus time duration; STD). The task is carried out on different days with calibration occurring on one day and fatigue induction occurring on another. The aim of this within subjects study is to assess the reliability of a single calibration. Fifty-one healthy participants (age = 32.2 +/-13.45; sex F = 41) completed the TloadDback calibration phase on 3 different days at three different moments of the day (counterbalanced for morning, afternoon and evening). Sleep quality, state fatigue and state sleepiness were considered as control variables. Comparisons across the 3 calibration sessions (χ²(2) = 34.1, p < .0001) showed a significant STD decrease (i.e., performance improvement) with the most salient between sessions 1 and 2 (t = 3.98, p = .0003***). However, the improvement occurred for only 2/3 of participants. STDs from the 3 calibrations were significantly correlated (α = 0.78). Differences in sleep quality, state fatigue and state sleepiness did not correlate with STD changes. Results indicate that a single calibration may not put all participants in their maximal cognitive load condition and that a second calibration could be more appropriate. Nonetheless, the fact that the 3 calibrations were significantly correlated and that 1/3 of participants did not vary between sessions 1 and 2 suggest that the measure is rather reliable and that a single calibration can be sufficient for placing participants in a close to maximal cognitive load condition for cognitive fatigue induction if a second calibration is not possible.

Keywords: TloadDback Task, cognitive fatigue, Cognitive Fatigue Induction, Cognitive capacity, methodology, Calibration, Reliability, validity

Received: 17 Jan 2025; Accepted: 12 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Hrabovecky, De Tiège, Samyn, Borragán, Peigneux, Strauss and Slama. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Jeromy Michael Hrabovecky, Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

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