[Effect of 24-hour sleep deprivation on the oculomotor reactions of human operator]

The article presents the results of oculomotor reaction investigations during 24-hour sleep deprivation of 10 normal male subjects aged 25 to 30 yrs. Video nistagmograph VNG System VO-25 was used for binocular registration of eye movements. The proposed video procedures for assessment of the functional ability of human operator are a balancing test, investigation of saccadic and smooth tracking eye movements. The balancing test is designed to determine the nystagmic activity, the saccade test, latency, peak velocity and precision of saccades, and the smooth tracking test, standard errors in tracking velocity and displacement In addition to video oculography, velocity of a simple sensorimotor reaction was measured and the self-rating scale of well-being, alertness and mood (SAN) was employed. The balancing test showed balancing nystagmus; occurrence of this nystagmus grew high with desynchronosis. Saccades registered during sleep deprivation pointed to a considerable decline of velocity, less noticeable extension of latency and degradation of precision. Sleep deprivation reduced values of the mean coefficient of gain and increased the standard error in velocity and displacement of smooth eye tracking.