CAREER: The Development of Heading Perception in Infancy

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEADING PERCEPTION IN INFANCYRick O. GilmoreDepartment of PsychologyPennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PA 16802When moving around the environment, animals generate a pattern of visualmotion called optic flow. Optic flow provides information about where andhow fast the observer is moving. This information is crucial for safelymoving through the environment. Despite its importance, very little isknown about how the ability to perceive optic flow develops early in life.This project will examine how young infants develop the ability todetermine which direction they are moving or heading through theenvironment. It will examine the role that changes in visual factors, suchas acuity or sensitivity to motion, play in the ability to perceive one'sheading. The project will examine how infants' emerging abilities to crawland walk shape their perceptual capacities. The project also will examinehow infants develop the ability to use visual information to maintainbalance and control posture. The results will provide new informationabout the development of a perceptual skill that is critical for maintainingbalance, avoiding collisions, and moving safely through the environment.In turn, the results will lay the groundwork for future research into theimpact of postnatal brain development on other aspects of perceptual andmotor development. Finally, this CAREER project will incorporate educationalactivities that will help to train a new generation of students in theemerging field of developmental