Abstract
We examined the effects of visual fatigue on reaction times measured in a visual pursuit task, conducting experiments in which the participants were asked to take, everyday for 28 days, supplemental food capsules containing 6mg astaxanthin that has been reported to improve visual fatigue. We measured reaction times at each of 1st, 14th and 28th day for the 28-day intake of astaxanthin. Our results showed that, regardless of the length of the intake period for astaxanthin, the reaction times became shorter at the early trials/blocks of the reaction time task than those at the late trials/blocks during a long lasting, 500 trial experimental session. Furthermore, the reaction times became to be shorter at the late stages (14th and 28th day) of the astaxanthin intake period than those at the early stage (1st day). These results suggest that reaction times change with increasing visual fatigue and that reaction time is a reliable measure for estimating visual fatigue.
