Saccade and vergence interaction during fatigued versus non-fatigued sessions

Fatigue is also known as weariness. However, fatigue is insufficiently understood in vision research. This study investigates saccades during the transient portion of symmetrical vergence responses when subjects report fatigue and non-fatigue. Four degree convergence and divergence eye movements were recorded from five subjects using an infrared eye movement monitor. Preliminary data show that there is an increase in the number of saccades during the transient portion of vergence responses when subjects are fatigued. Results suggest that saccades may be a compensatory mechanism used by the vergence system when humans are fatigued.