title: The effect of lutein supplementation on visual fatigue: a psychophysiological analysis.
abstract: We used psychophysiological technology to examine the effect of an oral supplement, a combination of lutein, zeaxanthin and blackcurrant extract (LUT), on visual fatigue, within the context of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. The LUT supplement and placebo samples were randomly assigned to thirteen participants, who took the samples for two LUT (and vice versa) for another 2 week. Each participant completed visual proof reading tasks for 2h during each of four testing sessions. Saccade tests were administered before and after the proof reading task, during which the participants moved their eyes back and forth between two targets positioned in the center of two checkerboards. We recorded EEG, EOG, heart rate, and facial muscle potential/performance during the saccade tests. Blood pressure was measured and subjective fatigue and stress scores were collected before and after the proof reading task. We averaged EEG starting at saccade offset in order to analyze eye fixation related potentials (EFRP). Our results suggested that the proof reading task induced visual fatigue. An analysis of EFRP and other psychophysiological data revealed significant differences between the LUT and placebo conditions. These results suggest that supplementation with LUT could help to reduce symptoms of visual fatigue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrated Psychological Science, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. yagi@kwansei.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Michihiro
authors.forename: Bevy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsi
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000187:drug effects*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D014975:Lutein / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception / Q000187:drug effects; D011594:Psychometrics; D011932:Reading; D031965:Ribes; D014787:Vision Tests; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000187:drug effects*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000187:drug effects*; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000627:therapeutic use; D065146:Zeaxanthins
chemical_list: D024341:Xanthophylls; D065146:Zeaxanthins; D014975:Lutein