Publication: Changes In Saccadic Eye Movement Characteristics Associated with Mental Fatigue Related Psychological Measures Using Saccade Tasks
Date
2024
Authors
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Publisher
International Medical University
Abstract
Workload-related mental fatigue can have detrimental impact on both work
performance and mental health. Saccadic eye movement characteristics (SEMC) have been used to detect mental fatigue however the changes in SEMCs have not been
associated to other mental fatigue related measures. This study aims to identify the changes in SEMCs and their associations with mental fatigue-related psychological measures. Participants were required to go through three saccade tasks (pro, anti and
mixed) that had elevating difficulty levels. The SEMCs, mental load, and sleepiness were recorded after at each task whilst saliva cortisol levels, fatigue and energy scores were measured pre and post experiment. Data from a total of 55 individuals (aged
between 18 to 37 years old) were analysed. Results showed that participants had the highest accuracy rates in the prosaccade task, followed by the mixed task and lastly
the antisaccade task. The Visual Analogue Scale-Fatigue (VAS-F) scores showed that there was a slight increase in fatigue and energy in the post-experiment, however, the difference was not statistically significant. However, the participants experienced an
increase in mental loading as they progressed from the prosaccade, antisaccade, and
to mixed task. From pre and post experiment, the SEMCs were seen to change in the following ways: saccade latency decreased, pupil dilation increased, and peak velocity
dropped. In conclusion, the task was able to increase mental loading in participants but may not have been able to significantly induce mental fatigue as suggested by the VAS-F scores. The associations between the psychological measures and SEMCs observed across the three tasks are discussed. The findings of this study can provide a
better understanding of the association of saccadic eye movement characteristics with
mental fatigue psychological measures, potentially providing insights into new methods for detecting and assessing mental fatigue objectively.
Keywords: eye tracking, digital health, saccades, mental load, inhibition, attention
Description
Keywords
Digital Health, Saccades, Mental Fatigue, Eye-Tracking Technology, Quality of Life