Micro and regular saccades across the lifespan during a visual search of "Where's Waldo" puzzles.

Despite the fact that different aspects of visual-motor control mature at different rates and aging is associated with declines in both sensory and motor function, little is known about the relationship between microsaccades and either development or aging. Using a sample of 343 individuals ranging in age from 4 to 66 and a task that has been shown to elicit a high frequency of microsaccades (solving Where's Waldo puzzles), we explored microsaccade frequency and kinematics (main sequence curves) as a function of age. Taking advantage of the large size of our dataset (183,893 saccades), we also address (a) the saccade amplitude limit at which video eye trackers are able to accurately measure microsaccades and (b) the degree and consistency of saccade kinematics at varying amplitudes and directions.

Sports vision testing of selected athletic participants in the 1997 and 1998 AAU Junior Olympic Games.

Background: Sports vision researchers have attempted to establish the need for vision care services for athletes and the relationship between visual skills and athletic success.

Methods: Data collected from sports vision screenings at the 1997 and 1998 Amateur Athletic Union AAU Junior Olympic Games was compiled for analysis. Four hundred forty-nine athletes, ranging in ages from 5 to 19 years old and representing 12 sports, were part of the sports vision epidemiology project conducted by the American Optometric Association Sports Vision Section.

The ocular and visual characteristics of an athletic population.

Background: Nine hundred and thirty-nine athletes of various ages and from varying levels of competition were part of a sports vision epidemiology project conducted by the Sports Vision Service at the Illinois Eye Institute, Chicago, Illinois.

Methods: Data were collected from sports vision screenings conducted from 1992 to 1995. The population consisted of participants in the 1994 and 1995 AAU Junior Olympic Games, members of the DePaul, Elmhurst, Illinois and College of DuPage athletic departments, and members of two local high school basketball programs, DuSable and Dunbar.

What the literature says about sports vision.

The demands on the visual system during athletic performance are among the most rigorous of any activity. Because vision influences the capacity of an athlete to perform the tasks of a sport, scientific research has been performed to investigate the link between skill and vision. Most research efforts have been directed toward identifying the visual skills necessary for sports and determining if the skills of athletes differ from those of nonathletes.