Mind-wandering, Implicit Learning and Time Perception in the Context of Vigilance Decrement

Executive Vigilance is defined as the ability to sustain attention in order to detect rare but critical events. Our group has developed the ANTI-Vea task that simultaneously measures the two components of vigilance (executive and arousal), in addition to the classical attentional functions: alertness, orienting, and executive control (Luna et al., 2018). Recent development of the task also includes thought-probes to measure whether participants are on-task or off-task (i.e., mind-wandering, ANTI-Vea-TP; Aguirre et al., 2025). Vigilance tends to decrease with time on task, as mind-wandering increases. This increase is considered as potentially responsible for the vigilance decrement. Challenging common negatives values of mind-wandering, increasing evidence associate mind-wandering with better probabilistic (Simor et al., 2025), statistical learning (Vékony et al., 2025), and memory consolidation (Wamsley et al., 2023). Moreover, mind-wandering seems to lead to time contraction (Terhune et al., 2017). We aim to further test how mind-wandering, also relates to episodic memory, implicit learning, and time perception, having a positive side. For this purpose, we modified the ANTI-Vea-TP task by including images that are presented according to an unannounced implicit learning pattern (e.g., indoor images - round frame; outdoor images - square frame). Episodic memory and implicit learning will be measured via a standard recognition test where images are presented in either the congruent frame or incongruent frame condition. We expect participants to show higher recognition and false alarms rates when images are presented in the congruent condition, a signature of having learnt the association; furthermore, we expect this effect to be positively correlated with mind-wandering. At the end of the experimental session, time perception will be assessed retrospectively. We expect mind-wandering to be also positively related to subjective time contraction during the experiment.