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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

An Open-Source Virtual Reality System for the Measurement of Spatial Learning in Head-Restrained Mice
Published on: March 3, 2023
Late maturation of visual spatial integration in humans
1Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Busch Campus-Psychology Building, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. ikovacs@cyclops.rutger.edu
Abstract:
Visual development is thought to be completed at an early age. We suggest that the maturation of the visual brain is not homogeneous: functions with greater need for early availability, such as visuomotor control, mature earlier, and the development of other visual functions may extend well into childhood. We found significant improvement in children between 5 and 14 years in visual spatial integration by using a contour-detection task. The data show that long-range spatial interactions-subserving the integration of orientational information across the visual field-span a shorter spatial range in children than in adults. Performance in the task improves in a cue-specific manner with practice, which indicates the participation of fairly low-level perceptual mechanisms. We interpret our findings in terms of a protracted development of ventral visual-stream function in humans.
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