This application is concerned primarily with visual development in human infants between 1 day and 5 months of age. Research is proposed to examine the strategies newborn and very young infants possess for acquiring visual information about their world. Three new studies and three ongoing studies are discussed which examine the effects on scanning of varying the activation potential of visual stimulation. For older infants, three new studies are presented which examine the interrelations between predictable visual reafference and infant form perception. Six additional studies examine the development of visual expectancies. Finally, four longitudinal studies of Rhesus infant monkeys are described on which data analyses must be completed. Three of these studies examine the role that the visual cortex plays in normal development by examining the development of infants who had a striatectomy in the first week of life. The technique used for these studies is infrared retinal reflection video recording by which fixation sequences over visual displays may be precisely recorded. Through analysis of the visual scanning records and eye-movement parameters, inferences are drawn about the rules that govern visual information-acquisition strategies, what the infant sees and how (s)he organizes the visual world.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Scientist Award (K05)
Project #
5K05MH000367-07
Application #
3075751
Study Section
Research Scientist Development Review Committee (MHK)
Project Start
1981-07-01
Project End
1992-05-31
Budget Start
1987-07-01
Budget End
1989-05-31
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Denver
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Denver
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80208
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Haith, M M (1986) Sensory and perceptual processes in early infancy. J Pediatr 109:158-71