The development of object representation in infancy

描述（由申请人提供）：对象的复杂表示为世界的概念知识、语言、定量推理和社会互动提供了基础。因此，形成这种表征的能力对于婴儿理解世界的发展至关重要。了解婴儿对物体的表征是如何发展的，是我们了解婴儿认知的核心，并提供了对典型和非典型发展模式的洞察。例如，患有威廉姆斯综合征和自闭症谱系障碍的儿童在他们的视觉处理中有已知的缺陷。确定典型的发展模式是理解这种缺陷的一个关键起点。这个项目的广泛目标是加深我们对婴儿如何能够在生命的第一年形成越来越复杂的物体表征的理解。具体来说，我们将研究使婴儿能够代表新类型的物体特征的能力。特别地，使用婴儿观看计算机生成的图像和物体操作的测量，我们将（a）检查运动发展在婴儿表征物体表面特性中的作用（实验1-4），以及（B）调查发展记忆和注意技能对婴儿表征的特征的作用（实验5-7）。这两个目标得到了文献的充分支持。长期以来，人们一直认为婴儿通过行动来学习周围环境中的物体。拟议的工作建立在这一传统之上。此外，研究者们开始相信，物体和事件是在感知、关注、比较等行为的瞬间被表征的，本研究将这一方法扩展到理解婴儿如何创造他们遇到的物体和事件的表征。这个项目的发现将有助于我们理解非典型的发展模式，如威廉姆斯综合征和自闭症谱系障碍的特征。自闭症儿童在表征动作方面存在缺陷;威廉姆斯综合征患者在腹侧流处理方面存在缺陷。这个项目，将提供深入了解婴儿的代表性或行动的典型发展，并可能通过腹侧和背侧路径处理的功能。因此，这里概述的典型发展将为理解此类疾病的非典型发展提供重要的参考点。 公共卫生相关性患有威廉姆斯综合征和自闭症谱系障碍的儿童在视觉处理方面存在已知缺陷。确定典型的发展模式是理解这种缺陷的一个关键起点。这个项目的广泛目标是加深我们对婴儿如何能够在生命的第一年形成越来越复杂的物体表征的理解，从而为我们理解非典型的发展模式提供基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sophisticated representations of objects provide the foundation for conceptual knowledge of the world, for language, for quantitative reasoning, and for social interactions. The ability to form such representations is therefore critically important for infants' developing comprehension of the world. Understanding how infants' representations of objects develop is central to our knowledge of infant cognition, and provides insight into both typical and atypical patterns of development. For example, children with Williams Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder have known deficits in their visual processing. Identifying typical patterns of development provides a key starting point for understanding such deficits. The broad goal of this project is to deepen our understanding of how infants become able to form increasingly sophisticated object representations across the first year of life. Specifically, we will study the abilities that make it possible for infants to represent new kinds of object features. In particular, using measures of infant looking at computer generated images and object manipulation, we will (a) examine the role of motor development in infants' representation of the surface properties of objects (Experiments 1-4), and (b) investigate the role of developing memory and attention skills on the features infants represent (Experiments 5-7). These two aims are well supported by the literature. It has long been held that infants learn about objects in their environment through action. The proposed work builds on this tradition. In addition, researchers have come to believe that objects and events are represented in the moment, during the acts of perceiving, attending, comparing, and so on. The present work extends this approach to understanding how infants create representations of the objects and events they encounter. The findings from this project will contribute to our understanding of atypical patterns of development, such as those characterizing Williams Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autistic children have deficits in representing actions; Williams syndrome individuals have deficits in ventral stream processing. This project, will provide insight into typical development of infants' representation or action and of features likely processed by the ventral and dorsal pathways. Thus, the typical development outlined here will provide an important point of reference for understanding the atypical development in such disorders. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Children with Williams Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder have known deficits in their visual processing. Identifying typical patterns of development provides a key starting point for understanding such deficits. The broad goal of this project is to deepen our understanding of how infants become able to form increasingly sophisticated object representations across the first year of life, and therefore providing a foundation for our understanding of atypical patterns of development.