Blinking and operating: cognition versus vision

Abstract

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Cognitive demand, digital screens and blink rate

“…One explanation for the higher prevalence of dry eye symptoms when viewing screens may be due to changes in blink patterns. Several investigations have reported that the blink rate is reduced during computer operation (Patel, Henderson, Bradley, Galloway, & Hunter, 1991;Schlote, Kadner, & Freudenthaler, 2004;Tsubota & Nakamori, 1993;Wong, Wan, & Kaye, 2002). For example, Tsubota and Nakamori (1993) compared the rate of blinking in 104 office workers either when they were relaxed, reading a book or viewing text on an electronic screen.…”

Looking at reality versus watching screens: Media professionalization effects on the spontaneous eyeblink rate

“…Likewise, it is well known that eyeblink rate is affected by performing tasks that require attention. Wong and colleagues, for instance, noted that the rate in ophthalmologic surgeons decreased during the execution of surgery, from 16 to 4 eyeblinks per minute [ 13 ]. The connection between eyeblink and attention has been proven in various circumstances [ 14 ] including the use of screens [ 15 , 16 ], or for diagnosis in Autism Spectrum Disorders [ 17 – 20 ].…”

The Effect of Media Professionalization on Cognitive Neurodynamics During Audiovisual Cuts

“…However, here we found that this happens with a clearer impact on media professionals, suggesting that this group is more sensitive to cuts. The rate of blinking has been proven to decrease when a cognitive operation is performed (Holland and Tarlow, 1975 ; Wong et al, 2002 ). Some studies have shown that watching a film reduces viewers' eyeblink rate (Patel et al, 1991 ; Andreu-Sánchez et al, 2017a ), and it has been proposed that this decrease may be a strategy to minimize the loss of visual information (Nakano et al, 2009 ).…”