Infants' Individuation of Physical Objects

9616342莱斯利人类的大脑在生命的第一年就有了足够的组织，以支持更高认知功能的出现。 一个关键功能是在变化的环境中识别物理对象。 现有的研究表明，婴儿在这方面具有令人印象深刻的能力。 这个项目将研究这种技能背后的认知机制的发展。 该方法将借鉴最近在理解成人视觉注意机制方面的进展。 一系列的实验将探索婴儿的注意力如何在各种情况下挑选和“抓住”物理对象。 这些技能背后的大脑机制对于了解世界、学习语言标签和发展计算能力至关重要。 关注物理对象的能力要求对象彼此区分。 一种方法是识别两个对象具有不同的特征。 另一种方法是简单地注意到物体同时占据空间中的不同位置。 这些简单的解决方案并不总是有效的（a）因为对象可以改变它们呈现的特征（例如，随着视点的改变）和（B）因为对象可以移入和移出视图（例如，通过在封堵器后面经过）。 对于生活在一个复杂的、运动的三维世界中的生物体来说，这种复杂的变化是规律而不是例外。 这给婴儿造成的问题，因为他们跟踪物理对象可以比作一个雷达操作员谁必须跟踪雷达屏幕上的“对象”。 当两个光点出现在屏幕上的不同位置时，操作员可以记录对象的数量和位置，并在它们在屏幕上移动时连续跟踪它们。 然而，其中一个光点可能会离开屏幕边缘，并且在短时间内可能会出现另一个光点。 这和消失的那个是同一个东西吗 操作员应该报告多少个物体，两个还是三个？ 婴儿的大脑必须经常面临类似的困境，因为目光重定向，闭塞，等等。 世界上的物理对象没有应答器来识别自己的婴儿的大脑！ 尽管如此，婴儿还是能够识别和跟踪物体，学习它们的语言标签，甚至能够列举出一小部分物体。 这个项目将研究婴儿如何首先个性化，然后重新识别物理对象，不时通过后面的遮挡。 实验将测量婴儿如何根据位置和特征信息以及两种信息的整合来分配他们对物理对象的视觉注意力。 实验还将确定婴儿在任何时候可以跟踪多少物体的限制。 这些研究的结果将揭示早期出现的，因此基本的，支持学习和一般认知发展的大脑功能的特性。 从长远来看，这些研究将影响早期大脑和认知发展以及教育问题，以及能够在复杂环境中智能行为的人工系统的设计。 ***

9616342 LESLIE The human brain is sufficiently organized in the first year of life to support the emergence of higher cognitive functions. One key function is the recognition of physical objects in a changing environment. Existing research shows that infants have impressive abilities in this regard. This project will investigate the development of the cognitive mechanisms underlying this skill. The approach will draw upon recent advances in understanding mechanisms of visual attention in adults. A series of experiments will explore how infant attention picks out and "holds onto" physical objects under a variety of circumstances. The brain mechanisms underlying such skills are crucial for learning about the world, for learning verbal labels, and for developing numeracy. The ability to attend to physical objects requires that objects be distinguished from one another. One way this can be done is to recognize that two objects have distinctive features. Another way is simply to note that the objects simultaneously occupy different locations in space. These simple solutions do not always work (a) because objects can change the features they present (e.g., with a change in viewpoint) and (b) because objects can move in and out of view (e.g., by passing behind an occluder). For organisms that live in a complex, moving, three dimensional world, such complex changes are the rule rather than the exception. The problem that this creates for infants as they track physical objects can be likened to a radar operator who has to track "objects" on a radar screen. When two blips appear on different locations on the screen, the operator can register the number and location of the objects and track them continuously as they move across the screen. However, one of the blips might move off the edge of the screen and after a short period another blip might appear. Is this the same object as the one that disappeared? How many objects should the operator report, two or t hree? The infant brain must regularly face a similar dilemma because of gaze redirection, occlusions, and so forth. Physical objects in the world do not have transponders to identify themselves to the infant brain! Despite this, infants manage to identify and track physical objects, learn verbal labels for them, and even to enumerate small sets of objects. This project will investigate how infants first individuate, then re-identify physical objects that from time to time pass behind occluders. Experiments will measure how infants allocate their visual attention to physical objects based on both locational and featural information and on the integration of the two kinds of information. Experiments will also determine what limit there may be on how many objects infants can track at any one time. The results of these studies will reveal properties of early emerging, and thus basic, brain functions that support learning and general cognitive development. Longer term, such investigations will bear upon early brain and cognitive development and education issues as well upon the design of artificial systems that can behave intelligently in complex environments. ***