There is a significant gap in our knowledge in the field of infant cognition, namely little is known about the development of visual processing in complex visual arrays in healthy development. The long-term objective of this project is to provide understanding into the nature of the development of infants? looking and visual processing, as well as to uncover relations between infants? looking and learning. That is, because infants rely even more heavily than do adults on visual processing to gain information about the world, understanding the factors that influence where and how long infants look, as well as how those factors determine what infants learn, is critical for a complete understanding of healthy development. To accomplish this objective we will undertake 2 specific aims. First the research team will conduct work aimed at understanding infants? learning to look. By examining how factors such as meaning, salience, and familiarity determines where and how long infants look, we gain understanding into the factors that influence visual processing, as well as how the development of the visual system helps infants balance competing influences on looking. Second, the research team will conduct work aimed at understanding infants? looking to learn. Infants? looking behavior is active and allows them to sample information about the visual world. By investigating how differences in infants? looking behavior translates to differences in what infants learn and remember about visual arrays, we can construct an understanding of how changes in in the visual system influence what infants learn about the visual world. By accomplishing these aims the research team will not only gain insight into the typical development of the visual system in healthy infants, but also will provide insight into points of vulnerability in that development and how multiple factors influence that development. In addition, because the research team will use complex visual arrays, such as natural scenes, this work will provide information about how looking and learning from looking develops in contexts that mimic the infants? everyday experience as well as make connections with work conducted with adults.
The proposed research is relevant to public health because visual processing is central to healthy development in infancy. Atypical patterns of looking in infancy are associated with developmental disorders such as William?s Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, and Autism Disorder Syndrome, and thus understanding typical development of visual processing is important for understanding points of vulnerability in this system as well as to identify and intervene with these disorders. The project is relevant to the mission of advancing our knowledge of how visual system functions and develops in healthy individuals.
