Megan Hutchinson
Staff Reporter
For many years there has been an argument on whether or not caffeine intake is harmful with questions such as, how much is healthy and how useful is it for our bodies? Well, recent studies suggest that caffeine intake has an ergogenic effect (intended to enhance physical performance, stamina, or recovery) on dynamic visual acuity or DVA. DVA is the ability to resolve fine details when there is relative motion between the object and its observer. According to Dr. Kristine Dalton, a researcher in the School Of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo states, “ A lot of what happens in our environment is moving- like trying to cross a busy intersection as a pedestrian or finding something on a shelf as you’re walking through the aisles of a grocery store.” Scientists already know caffeine increases the velocity of rapid-eye movements but they want further information on visual processing and how it facilitates the detection of moving visual stimuli.
This specific study was conducted by Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science’s involving 21 low caffeine consumers ( 11 women and 10 men; mean age- 22.5 years old; mean weight- 68.4 kg). On two separate occasions, half of the participants ingested a caffeine capsule (4 mg) while the other half ingested placebo capsules. Each person's dynamic visual acuity skills were measured before and 60 minutes after caffeine ingestion using a computer-based test. Researchers discovered that participants who had ingested caffeine capsules showed significant accuracy and faster speed when asked to identify small moving stimulants concluding caffeine positively influences decision-making and stimulus processing. Additionally included in the study were eye movement velocity and contrast sensitivity. Both are implicated in dynamic visual acuity and shown to be sensitive to caffeine intake. Dr. Dalton said, “ Our findings show that caffeine consumption can actually be helpful for a person’s visual function by enhancing alertness and feelings of wakefulness.” She continued, “This is especially true for that critical, everyday tasks, like driving, riding a bike, or playing sports, that require us to attend to detailed information in moving objects when making decisions.” The university’s results were published in the journal of Psychopharmacology.
Image Credits: PSICOPICO
Information and research are taken from: http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/caffeine-intake-dynamic-visual-acuity-10345.html
Comments