Sleepiness contributes to a large proportion of motor vehicle accidents worldwide. Driving is a complex task, which involves constant division of attention between different sensory modalities. This study aimed
to examine the behavioural and neurofunctional effects of 30-hour sleep deprivation (SD) on performance of a cross-modal divided attention task. Ten male professional drivers participated (mean age 45.7  6.9 years). Drivers were screened for sleep disorders, drug use, and other medical conditions contraindicating sleep deprivation.
Drivers attended two cerebral functional magnetic resonance scans; after normal sleep, and following 30-hour SD. During each session, drivers completed a task that involved selective visual and auditory attention, and divided attention...