Fig. 5: Separable positive- and negative-going neurovascular and CSF wave events are linked to attention drops and attention recovery.
a, Omissions during wakefulness were categorized as isolated (Type A), onset of sustained low attention (Type B) and end of sustained low attention (Type C). Schematic made with BioRender.com. b, Type A, isolated omission trials (n = 127 trials, 26 participants), were locked to a decrease in broadband EEG power and then increased power at attention recovery in the next trial. CSF showed a significant decrease followed by a significant increase. Respiratory rate and heart rate both showed significant changes from baseline after trial onset. c, Type B, first omission of the series, signifies the onset of a sustained low attentional state (n = 61 trials, 20 participants). CSF signal, respiratory rate and heart rate all decrease significantly (P < 0.05, paired t-test across segments and time bins, Bonferroni corrected). The black arrow marks the onset time of CSF signal drop, at 0.5 s. d, Type C, last omission of the series, followed by increased attentional state (n = 57 trials, 20 participants). The EEG shows heightened slow wave activity during the omission and subsequent increase in alpha–beta power at the recovery of attention. CSF signal, respiratory rate and heart rate all increase significantly (P < 0.05; paired t-test relative to baseline, Bonferroni corrected). The black arrow marks the onset time of the CSF signal increase, at 9.5 s (that is, on average 1 s after behavior recovery). For data in b–d, black bars indicate significant (P < 0.05, paired two-tailed t-test, Bonferroni corrected) changes from baseline ([–10, –5] s). Gray regions indicate the average timing of trials where no behavioral responses were recorded for each omission type. Blue circles indicate average timing of valid responses before or after each omission type. Red crosses indicate average timing of the omission trial onset. Data are presented as mean values ± s.e. (standard error across segments). Participant-level averages are provided in Extended Data Fig. 9. The exact P values are in Supplementary Table 1.
