Dynamic changes in infant visual preference for optic flows just before the onset of voluntary locomotion: a longitudinal study N Shirai1, T Imura2 |
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1Department of Psychology, Niigata University, Japan |
| Perception of radial optic flow takes a critical role to perceive and control the direction of locomotion. We longitudinally investigated developmental interaction between the perception of radial expansion/contraction flows and the locomotor ability in infancy. Infants (N=20) were tested for 4 consecutive months, from 3 months before the month in which locomotion emerged. The first month in which each infant showed voluntary locomotion was defined as ‘0 month’. The three months before ‘0 month’ were defined as ‘-3’, ‘-2’, and ‘-1 months’. Each infant’s visual preferences and locomotor ability were assessed every month during that period. Results indicated that the preference for contraction (but not for expansion) suddenly decreased just before the onset of the locomotor ability. This suggests that the drastic change in visual preference to contraction flow precedes to the acquisition of locomotor ability. The potential role of the observed visual development in emergence of motor abilities such as locomotion will be discussed. |
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