Document Detail


Coherence thresholds for discrimination of motion direction in infants.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  8160401     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The sensitivity of 3-month-old infants to direction of motion in random-dot patterns was assessed by measuring coherence thresholds for the discrimination of a pattern, in which opposite directions were segregated into alternate horizontal strips, from an unsegregated pattern. The coherently moving dots had a displacement size of 0.16 deg (velocity 8 deg/sec), and their direction of motion reversed periodically. For both infants and an adult subject coherence thresholds decreased with increasing height of the segregated strips, and with increasing duration of the interval between direction reversals. However the infants required larger minimum heights and longer minimum durations in order to extract motion direction. Even under the best conditions infants were markedly less sensitive, with coherence thresholds of around 50%, compared with 5-7% for the adult. In addition, within the group of infants coherence thresholds were negatively correlated with age. This developmental increase in motion sensitivity at an intermediate velocity suggests that a large part of the improvement in upper and lower velocity thresholds during development is a result of a uniform increase in sensitivity across all velocities, though the results do not rule out additional specific improvements in sensitivity at the extremes of the velocity range.
Authors:
J Wattam-Bell
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Vision research     Volume:  34     ISSN:  0042-6989     ISO Abbreviation:  Vision Res.     Publication Date:  1994 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1994-05-18     Completed Date:  1994-05-18     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0417402     Medline TA:  Vision Res     Country:  ENGLAND    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  877-83     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge, Department of Experimental Psychology, England.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Age Factors
Child Development
Discrimination (Psychology) / physiology
Humans
Infant
Male
Motion Perception / physiology*
Pattern Recognition, Visual / physiology
Sensory Thresholds / physiology
Time Factors

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  A simple mechanism for emmetropization without cues from accommodation or colour.
Next Document:  Efficient and unbiased modifications of the QUEST threshold method: theory, simulations, experimenta...