Eyes on the baseball at UCR

A computerised training programme has been shown to improve the visual acuity of baseball players.

Findings published in the journal Current Biology last week reported that players from the University of California Riverside (UCR) Baseball Team showed improved vision after the programme.

Nineteen players underwent training including a diverse set of stimuli, optimised stimulus presentation, multisensory facilitation, and consistently reinforcing training stimuli. They completed 30 individual 25-minute sessions and were tested alongside 18 other players.

The benefits were assessed using standard eye-charts and batting statistics, with trained players showing improved vision after training, decreased strike-outs and more runs.

Players in the trained group showed improvements in visual acuity measured at 20 feet, with an average of 31 per cent improvement in binocular acuity, the researchers at the university reported.