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Speed of accommodation and age.
1Medical Sciences Department, Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Pensacola, Florida.
Summary
The speed of adjusting focus between near and far targets (accommodative facility) slows with age in fighter pilots, particularly when shifting from far to near. Near-to-far focus adjustments remained largely unaffected by age.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Human Factors
- Aerospace Medicine
Background:
- Age-related changes in visual function can impact performance in demanding professions.
- Accommodative facility, the ability to adjust focus, is crucial for tasks requiring rapid visual shifts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of age on accommodative facility in U.S. Navy fighter pilots.
- To determine if the direction of accommodative change (near-to-far vs. far-to-near) influences age-related decline.
Main Methods:
- A psychophysical threshold procedure was used to measure accommodation time.
- 65 U.S. Navy fighter pilots aged 24-44 years participated.
- Measurements included time to change focus between near (0.457 m) and far (5.486 m) targets.
Main Results:
- Accommodative response time significantly slowed with age when shifting focus from far-to-near (FN).
- Near-to-far (NF) accommodative response time did not show a significant age-related decline.
- Intrasubject variability was higher for FN than NF, but not significantly dependent on age.
Conclusions:
- Age significantly impacts the speed of far-to-near accommodative changes in fighter pilots.
- Near-to-far focus adjustment speed appears more resilient to aging in this population.
- Findings suggest potential age-related functional declines in visual accommodation relevant to aviation safety.