title: Is optimal vision required for the successful execution of an interceptive task?
abstract: The importance of optimal visual function in demanding interceptive tasks is far from established. The aim of the study was to determine whether induced myopic blur and hence sub-optimal visual function would give rise to a detrimental effect on performance in the execution of an interceptive task. The batting performance of grade level cricket players was assessed facing a bowling machine whilst wearing contact lenses of four different refractive conditions (plano (nil), +1.00, +2.00 and +3.00D over-refraction), inducing increasing amounts of myopic blur. Performance for each condition was assessed based both on the shot quality against each delivery judged by a qualified cricket coach blind to each condition, along with an evaluation of the quality of ball-bat contact for each delivery. No significant change was found in batting performance with the introduction of +1.00 and +2.00D of induced myopic blur. A +3.00D over-correction was required before any significant decrease in batting performance was detected, demonstrating that batters needed to be essentially legally blind (as simulated through the use of the +3.00D over-refraction) before there was any significant measurable decrement in batting performance. We concluded that optimal visual correction is not necessarily required for optimal performance in a demanding interceptive task, and that the human perceptual-motor system is capable of compensating for marked alterations in input.
authors.affiliation: School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia. d.mann@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Nathan Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Neilsen J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: De Souza
authors.forename: Damien R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Scott J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000523:psychology; D003261:Contact Lenses; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000523:psychology; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D014792:Visual Acuity