Using Transcranial Doppler sonography, cerebral blood flow velocity (hemovelocity, CBFV) was recorded from the middle cerebral arteries during the performance of 40-min auditory and visual vigilance tasks. Reductions in stimulus duration were the critical signals for detection in both tasks, which were equated for stimulus salience and discrimination difficulty. Signal detection responses (correct detections and false alarms) and CBFV declined linearly over time in both modalities. In addition, the overall level of CBFV and the temporal decline in this measure were greater in the right than the left cerebral hemisphere. The results support the view that a right hemispheric system is involved in the functional control of vigilance and that this system operates in a similar manner in the auditory and visual channels.
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