Pupillographic Stress, Arousal and Emotion Assessments in Visual Stress

Abstract

An objective and efficient method for determining whether an individual is tired could provide an important tool in various fields, including biomedical influences, sleep disorder studies, industrial medicine and psychiatry. The purpose of this study is to assess pupillary oscillations, which are known to originate from activities of the autonomic nervous system. While the pupils are large and quiet in darkness when the subject is alert, they oscillate under the influence of tiredness. The pupil becomes smaller and begins to oscillate at higher amplitude and slower frequency (pupil constrictions +0.25Hz frequency); this fact was considered in connection with the physical fatigue wave reported in past reports.