The present study investigated the effects of the supine position and task demands on blink activities. 24 participants (M age = 21.7 yr., SD = 0.5) performed the Japanese version of the Reading Span Test to investigate the effects of task difficulty. Eyeblink activities were detected by electrooculogram, via a wireless system, and were analyzed using newly developed software. Results showed that the supine position did not affect blink rate itself, but some wave characteristics of blinks, such as blink amplitude and closing and re-opening duration, were influenced; specifically, amplitude was reduced and durations increased. Further analyses suggested that task demands affected eyeblink rates but did not affect waveform attributes. Eyeblink rates increased during task performance and decreased during rest periods but it was not confirmed that this task demand effect was larger in the supine position than in the sitting position.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AgostinoR.BolognaM.DinapoliL.GregoriB.FabbriniA.AccorneroN.BerardelliA. (2008) Voluntary, spontaneous, and reflex blinking in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders, 23, 669–675.
2.
BauerL. O.GoldsteinR.SternJ. A. (1987) Effects of information-processing demands on physiological response patterns. Human Factors, 29, 213–234.
3.
BolognaM.AgostinoR.GregoriB.BelvisiD.OttavianiD.ColosimoD.FabbriniG.BerardelliD. (2009) Voluntary, spontaneous and reflex blinking in patients with clinically probable progressive supranuclear palsy. Brain, 132, 502–510.
4.
BonfiglioL.CarbonciniM. C.BongioanniP.AndreP.MinichilliF.ForniM.RossiB. (2005) Spontaneous blinking behavior in persistent vegetative and minimally conscious states: Relationships with evolution and outcome. Brain Research Bulletin, 68, 163–170.
5.
CaffierP.ErdmannU.UlspergerP. (2003) Experimental evaluation of eye-blink parameters as a drowsiness measure. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 89, 319–325.
DanemanM.CarpenterP. A. (1980) Individual differences in working memory and reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 19, 450–466.
8.
DoughtyM. J. (2001) Consideration of three types of spontaneous eyeblink activity in normal humans: During reading and video display terminal use, in primary gaze, and while in conversation. Optometry and Vision Science, 78, 712–725.
9.
GehrickeJ. G. (2002) Differentiating between reflex and spontaneous blinks using simultaneous recording of the orbicularis oculis electromyogram and the electro oculogram in startle research. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 44, 261–268.
10.
GoldsteinR.BauerL. O.SternJ. A. (1992) Effect of task difficulty and interstimulus interval on blink parameters. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 13, 111–117.
11.
HäkkänenH.SummalaH.PartinenM.TiihonenM.SilvoJ. (1999) Blink duration as an indicator of driver sleepiness in professional bus drivers. Sleep, 22, 798–802.
12.
HallR. J.CuasckB. L. (1972) The measurement of eye behavior: Critical and selected reviews of voluntary eye movement and blinking, U. S. Army Technical Memorandum No. 18-72. Arberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland: Human Engineering Laboratory, Aberdeen Research and Development Center.
13.
HollandK.TarlowG. (1972) Blinking and mental load. Psychological Reports, 31, 119–127.
14.
IngreM.AkerstedtT.PetersB.AnundA.KecklundG. (2006) Subjective sleepiness, simulated driving performance and blink duration: Examining individual differences. Journal of Sleep Research, 15, 47–53.
15.
KarsonC. N. (1983) Spontaneous eye-blink rates and dopaminergic systems. Brain: A Journal of Neurology, 106, 643–653.
16.
KarsonC. N. (1988) Physiology of normal and abnormal blinking. In JankovicJ.TolosaE. (Eds.), Advances in Neurology. Vol. 49. Facial Dyskinesias. New York: Raven Press. Pp. 25–37.
17.
KimY. S.BaekH. J.KimJ. S.LeeH. B.ChoiJ. M.ParkK. S. (2009) Helmet-based physiological signal monitoring system. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 105, 365–372.
18.
KnorrA. (1929) BeitragezurKenntnis des Lidschlagesunternormalen und pathologischen Verhaltnissen. Wurzuburger Abhandlungenausdem Gesmatgebiet der Medizine, 25, 197–223. [in German]
19.
MorrisT. L.MillerJ. C. (1996) Electrooculographic and performance indices of fatigue during simulated flight. Biological Psychology, 42, 343–360.
20.
OhiraH. (1996) Eyeblink activity in a word-naming task as a function of semantic priming and cognitive load. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 82, 835–842.
21.
OsakaM. (2002) The Japanese version Reading Span Test for adults: A notepad of brain. A working memory. Shinyousha: Tokyo, Japan. Pp. 189–192. [in Japanese]
22.
SahlinS.ChenE. (1997) Gravity, blink rate, and lacrimal drainage capacity. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 124, 758–764.
23.
PowersSchade P. A.Coburn-LitvakP.EvingerC. (2010) Conditioned eyelid movement is not a blink. Journal of Neurophysiology, 103, 641–647.
24.
SingerL.GreenbergE.AntrobusJ. S. (1971) Looking with mind's eye: Experimental studies of ocular motility during daydreaming and mental arithmetic. Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, 33, 694–709.
25.
SternJ. A.BoyerD. J.SchroederD.TouchstoneM. (1994) Blinks, saccades, and fixation pauses during vigilance task performance: I. Time on task. FAA Office of Aviation Medicine Reports (FAA-AM-94-26), 1–44.
26.
SternJ. A.WalrathL. C.GoldsteinR. (1984) The endogenous eyeblink. Psychophysiology, 21, 22–33.
27.
SugiyamaT.TadaH. (2006) Life-long development and gender differences in endogenous eyeblinkings (2): From birth to high school. Paper presented at the fortyfifth Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, October 24–29, 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
28.
SunW. S.BakerR. S.RouholimanB. R.HasanS. A.GazaW.StavaM. W. (1997) Age-related changes in human blinks: Passive and active changes in eyelid kinematics. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 38, 92–99.
29.
TadaH.YamadaF.HariuT. (1990) Changes of eye-blink activities during hypnotic state. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 71, 832–834.
30.
TanakaY.HayashiE.OhishiT.TadaH. (2011) Eyeblinks as an assessment index of response to human stimuli on severe motor and intellectual disabilities. Journal of Kawamura Gakuen Woman's Universty, 22, 147–157. [in Japanese]
31.
TanakaY.YamaokaK. (1993) Blink activity and task difficulty. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 77, 55–66.
32.
TecceJ. (1989) Eyeblinks and psychological functions: A two-process model. Psychophysiology, 26, 5–6.
33.
WoodJ. G.HassettJ. (1983) Eyeblinking during problem solving: The effect of problem difficulty and internally vs externally directed attention. Psychophysiology, 20, 18–20.
