Sleep deprivation weakens goal-driven processing by highlighting stimulus-driven processing in conflict processing

A complex environment requires us to maintain good conflict processing ability at all times, but how sleep deprivation affects conflict processing remains unclear. Here, we sought to use EEG techniques to explore how sleep deprivation affects the interference of stimulus-driven processing in goal-driven processing in individuals. Subjects were randomly assigned to a sleep deprivation group and control group. Behaviorally, there were significant between-group differences in accuracy but not in response time. At the EEG level, the main effect of P3b, Ni latency, and LSP mean amplitude was significant. Furthermore, at the time–frequency level, the interaction between the group and the conflict effect in the lower alpha band in the conflict detection stage, the alpha band and the beta band in the conflict suppression stage, and the alpha band in the conflict resolution stage was significant. These results suggest that sleep deprivation affects the effectiveness of the flanker task without affecting efficiency, mainly because sleep deprivation highlights the subject’s stimulus-driven processing, thereby weakening the subject’s conflict resolution ability. Our findings may provide insights into neural functional changes in the impact of sleep deprivation on conflict processing.