The Effect of Stroboscopic Vision Training on Eye-Hand Coordination

Objectives: Recent research suggests stroboscopic vision training may enhance some aspects of vision perception and attention. The present work investigated whether a stroboscopic training intervention improved Eye-Hand Coordination (EHC) performance using a Sport Vision Trainer (SVT™). Design: EHC training was completed in two conditions; Strobe (SG) vs Control (CG) using a between-participants experimental design. Methods: Sixteen sports participants were assigned to either SG (n = 8) or CG (n = 8) with ability matched across groups. Following a vision and baseline (BL) EHC assessment, SG completed a 10 min training intervention wearing Nike Vapor Strobes®, whilst CG trained without. Post-training retention tests (RT) were administered immediately, 10-min, and 7-days after training. A Visual Search (VS) task was completed prior to training and after 7-days to identify any transfer effects. Results: A 2 (Group) x 3 (Time) RM ANOVA indicated main effect for Group. The SG performed significantly (p < 0.05) quicker in all three RT versus the CG: Immediate (0.97s quicker compared to 0.43s slower than BL), 10-min (0.97s compared to -0.15s), and 7-days-later (0.55s compared to -0.11s) respectively. Significant differences were observed between groups in the VS task (SG = 1.37s compared to CG = -2.01s). Conclusion: A short EHC training session using stroboscopic glasses supports previous research proposing improvements in certain aspects of vision perception. Future research should explore these mechanisms further using different exposure, frequencies, and focused identification of training drills as a complementary EHC intervention.