Abstract
Introduction
Accuracy and duration of ocular pursuit of a target object have been linked to interceptive performance. Yet, due to the physical constraints of previous assessments, this relationship has not been examined in the context of fatigue. This study examined the relationship between ocular pursuit and interceptive performance under peripheral and central fatigue whilst controlling for exercise-induced metabolic stress and cognitive capacity across participants.
Methods
We determined ventilatory thresholds in 20 soccer experts using a ramp incremental protocol to individually tailor 45 minutes of cycling in the heavy exercise domain. During the exercise, participants completed four continuous blocks of a modified Stroop task, previously found to induce subjective central fatigue and show declining task performance after 45 minutes. We used a mobile eye-tracking device and frame-by-frame analysis to obtain ocular pursuit accuracy and duration during an interceptive soccer task before and after exercise. Two external cameras captured interceptive performance, which we analysed using deep learning algorithms trained to extract 3D positions of ball and foot.
Results
Using a linear mixed model, neither ocular pursuit accuracy (p=.615) or duration (p=.478) predicted interceptive performance on a trial-by-trial basis in any of the present conditions.
Conclusion
Our findings did not support the suggested link between interceptive performance and measures of ocular pursuit in non-fatigued participants. Moreover, we did not observe a relationship between ocular pursuit and interceptive performance when participants were fatigued, potentially excluding ocular pursuit as an underlying mechanism of fatigue-driven sports performance deterioration
