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The research aims to determine if habitual physical activity influences microsaccade characteristics during optic flow stimulation in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

January 23, 2026Open Access

Effects of Physical Activity Level on Microsaccade Dynamics During Optic Flow Stimulation in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Key Points

The research aims to determine if habitual physical activity influences microsaccade characteristics during optic flow stimulation in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Twenty-eight adults with type 2 diabetes performed a fixation task with optic flow stimuli.
Eye movements were recorded using the EyeLink system during the task.
Participants' physical activity levels were assessed at baseline and after a low-threshold aerobic training program for six months.
Microsaccade characteristics were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.
Microsaccade rate was affected by optic flow, showing significant interaction with sex and physical activity levels.
A significant interaction effect was observed in peak velocity and amplitude of microsaccades over time, indicating subtle changes based on context.

Abstract

Background: Microsaccades are small fixational eye movements tightly linked to attention and oculomotor control. Although diabetes mellitus is associated with retinal and neural alterations that may impair visuomotor function, the influence of physical activity on microsaccade behaviour in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains unknown. This study investigated whether habitual physical activity modulates microsaccade characteristics during fixation under different optic flow stimuli. Given that optic flow engages motion processing and gaze stabilisation pathways that may be affected by diabetes-related microvascular/neural changes, it can reveal subtle visuomotor alterations during fixation. Methods: Twenty-eight adults with T2DM and no diagnosed retinopathy performed a fixation task while viewing optic flow stimuli made of moving dots. Eye movements were recorded using an EyeLink system. Physical activity behaviour was assessed at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up after a low-threshold aerobic circuit training programme. Classification as physically active (≥600 MET-min/week) or inactive (<600 MET-min/week) was based on the 6-month assessment. Microsaccade characteristics were analysed by repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: Microsaccade rate was modulated by optic flow (p = 0.044, η2p = 0.106) and showed a significant stimulus × group × sex interaction (p = 0.005, η2p = 0.163), indicating sex-dependent differences in how optic flow modulated microsaccade rate across physically active and inactive participants. A time × stimulus interaction effect was found in peak velocity (p = 0.03, η2p = 0.114) and amplitude (p = 0.02, η2p = 0.127), consistent with modest context-dependent changes over time. Conclusions: These findings suggest that physical activity modulates microsaccade generation and supports the potential of microsaccade metrics as sensitive indicators of oculomotor function in diabetes.

Effects of Physical Activity Level on Microsaccade Dynamics During Optic Flow Stimulation in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Key Points

Abstract

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