Curated Reading Lists
This list includes papers that have shaped my current work; biological models of cognitive fatigue; oscillatory mechanisms of working memory; and a critical reading of “restoration” claims. Together they motivate WAND’s design -- to induce genuine cognitive fatigue rather than boredom.
Cognitive and Mental Fatigue
This collection focuses on neuro-metabolic and neurophysiological models of active cognitive fatigue; plus key methodological critiques.
Foundational and Neuro-metabolic Models
- Boksem, M. A. S., & Tops, M. (2008). Mental fatigue; costs and benefits. Brain Research Reviews. Effort regulation and dopaminergic cost; benefit framing; a base text.
- Hockey, G. R. J. (1997). Compensatory control in the regulation of human performance under stress and high workload: A cognitive-energetical framework. Biological Psychology. The foundational paper for the compensatory control model, arguing that fatigue involves an active struggle to maintain performance against rising costs.
- Holroyd, C. B. (2025). The Controllosphere. Psychological Review. Models fatigue as the price of running metabolically costly control circuits; relevant to gamma binding in working memory.
- Müller, T., & Apps, M. A. J. (2019). Motivational fatigue. Neuropsychologia. Maps valuation; effort; and the slide toward disengagement.
- Pessiglione, M., Blain, B., Wiehler, A., & Naik, S. (2025). Origins and consequences of cognitive fatigue. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Links sustained cognitive work with glutamate accumulation in prefrontal cortex; sets a biological basis for the cost of effort.
Methodological Considerations and Critiques
- Goodman, S. P. J., et al. (2025). Inducing mental fatigue; systematic review and meta-analysis. Behavior Research Methods. Wide variability in induction; highlights the need for controlled active-fatigue designs.
- Hopstaken, J. F., et al. (2015). Fatigue and disengagement. Psychophysiology. Pupil and performance trends under load; learning confounds flagged.
- Pickering, T., et al. (2024). Active vs passive fatigue. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. Separates overload from underload; crucial for interpretation.
- Snipes, S., et al. (2022). The theta paradox: 4-8 Hz EEG oscillations reflect both sleep pressure and cognitive control. The Journal of Neuroscience. Expertly unpacks the ambiguity of the frontal midline theta signal, distinguishing 'local-sleep' theta from the theta associated with active cognitive control.
Working Memory and Neural Oscillations
Contemporary neurodynamic models of working memory; with emphasis on oscillatory control and maintenance.
Core Oscillatory Models
- D’Esposito, M., & Postle, B. R. (2015). Cognitive neuroscience of working memory. Annual Review of Psychology. Distributed control; prefrontal coordination; essential survey.
- Jensen, O., & Mazaheri, A. (2010). Shaping functional architecture by oscillatory alpha activity: Gating by inhibition. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The canonical reference for the role of alpha oscillations, proposing the 'gating by inhibition' theory where alpha rhythms actively suppress irrelevant neural information to protect working memory.
- Lisman, J. E., & Jensen, O. (2013). The theta-gamma code. Neuron. Items packed in gamma cycles nested in theta; sequence control.
- Miller, E. K., Lundqvist, M., & Bastos, A. M. (2018). Working Memory 2.0. Neuron. Gamma for content; beta for control; interaction view now standard.
Cross-Frequency Coupling and Interventions
- Daume, J., et al. (2024). WM control by phase–amplitude coupling. Nature. Human intracranial evidence that theta-gamma coupling tracks WM success.
- Nissim, N. R., et al. (2023). tACS and WM; meta-analysis. Neuromodulation. Frequency-matched stimulation can improve WM performance; moderate effects.
- Vogel, E. K., & Machizawa, M. G. (2004). Neural activity predicts individual differences in visual working memory capacity. Nature. The landmark paper establishing the Contralateral Delay Activity (CDA) as a direct neural marker of an individual's visual working memory capacity.
Green Space and Cognitive Restoration
Methodology within environmental psychology; attention restoration claims; replication challenges.
Key Studies and the Replication Challenge
- Bell, C. N., et al. (2025). Nature exposure and attention; meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Small effects; high inconsistency; argues for stronger induction checks.
- Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). Nature and executive attention. Psychological Science. Influential field study; later work tempers the claims.
- Berto, R. (2005). Restorative environments and attention. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Seminal report; replication now mixed; useful historical anchor.
- Johnson, J. A., et al. (2021). Simulated nature and executive attention. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Near-zero average effect across studies; sharpens the target for better designs.
- Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward a conceptual framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Introduced Attention Restoration Theory (ART), which has been an important high-level conceptual framework. However, its psychological constructs are not easily mapped to neural data, highlighting the need for the field to move toward more neurobiologically-grounded models.
- Neilson, B. N., et al. (2021). Replication of Berto 2005. Human Factors. No reliable restorative gain; modern methods; careful controls.