Evaluation of Simple Visual Reaction Time of Different Colored Light Stimuli in Visually Normal  Students

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the influence of colored light stimulus on simple visual reaction times.

Methods

Simple visual reaction times of colored light stimuli were measured in 100 young Iranian females with the mean age of 23.02±3.45 years (range from 18 to 30 years) in response to the four visual stimuli (red, green, yellow and blue light) by using Speed Anticipation and Reaction Tester (SART) software.

Results

The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to compare visual reaction time showed a significant difference (P <0.001) between four colored light stimuli so that the maximum and minimum mean reaction times were obtained for blue- and red-colored light stimuli. Also, it was observed that the response latency for red color was significantly less compared to green color (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The present study showed that individuals do not respond to visual stimuli with different colors at the same speed, which may be due to different factors involved in the visual reaction time.

Keywords:

• reaction time
• the color of stimulus

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the School of Rehabilitation Sciences of Iran University of Medical Science staff for their assistance and co‐operation in carrying out the visual reaction time test with Speed Anticipation and Reaction Tester (SART) software.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

The study protocol adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the institutional review board of the Iran University of Medical Sciences and the Steering Committees of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences. All patients signed a written informed consent to allow the evaluation of their clinical data.

Disclosure

The authors have no financial interest in any of the products mentioned in the manuscript and report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Iran University of Medical Sciences.