Visual function,performance,and processing of basketball players vs.sedentary individuals

Background:Athletes tend to have better visuo-motor performance than do sedentary individuals.However,several basic visual-function and perceptual parameters remain unexplored to date.In this study,we investigated whether differences exist in visual function,performance,and processing between basketball players and individuals without a sport-involvement background.Methods:A total of 33 healthy men with no visual impairment or pathology were divided into 2 groups,depending on the involvement in sport(semi-professional basketball players and sedentary individuals).We tested their baseline heart-rate variability in the resting position apart from subjective questionnaires to determine their physical fitness level,and we checked their visual function,performance,and processing through an extended battery of optometric tests.Results:The 2 groups differed in resting heart-rate variability parameters(p<0.001),confirming their dissimilarities in regular time practising sports per week.The basketball players showed a closer breakpoint and recovery nearpoint of convergence,a higher fusional-vergence rate,better discriminability halos,and better eye-hand coordination(all p values<0.05).Conclusion:These results show evidence that athletes,basketball players in this case,exhibit better performance in several visual abilities in comparison to a group of individuals without sporting backgrounds,suggesting an improvement due to the systematic involvement of those skills during basketball practice.