Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Visualization Method for Proprioceptive Drift on a 2D Plane Using Support Vector Machine
07:05

Visualization Method for Proprioceptive Drift on a 2D Plane Using Support Vector Machine

Published on: October 27, 2016

Spatial localization of touch in the first year of life: early influence of a visual spatial code and the development

Andrew J Bremner1, Denis Mareschal, Sarah Lloyd-Fox

  • 1Department of Psychology, Whitehead Building, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, United Kingdom. a.bremner@gold.ac.uk

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|February 6, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Infants can locate touch in space, with 10-month-olds showing more visual responses than 6.5-month-olds. The ability to adjust responses to touch across different hand positions develops between these ages.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Perception

Background:

  • Infants' spatial perception integrates multiple senses.
  • Understanding tactile localization is key to cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate tactile sensation localization in infants' peripersonal space.
  • To examine age-related changes in tactile remapping abilities.
  • To explore the influence of visual-tactile integration on spatial awareness.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments with 6.5- and 10-month-old infants.
  • Presentation of unpredictable vibrotactile stimuli to either hand.
  • Assessment of manual and visual responses in crossed- and uncrossed-hands postures.

Main Results:

  • Both age groups localized tactile stimuli.
  • 6.5-month-olds showed predominantly manual responses; 10-month-olds showed more visual orienting.
  • Tactile remapping across postures developed between 6.5 and 10 months.
  • Younger infants favored responses consistent with the uncrossed-hands posture.

Conclusions:

  • Early visual input influences tactile spatial perception.
  • Tactile remapping ability develops between 6.5 and 10 months.
  • Midline crossing experience likely drives the development of remapping abilities.

More Related Videos

Non-Invasive Modulation and Robotic Mapping of Motor Cortex in the Developing Brain08:26

Non-Invasive Modulation and Robotic Mapping of Motor Cortex in the Developing Brain

Published on: July 1, 2019

Assessment of Spatial Lingual Tactile Sensitivity using a Gratings Orientation Test06:00

Assessment of Spatial Lingual Tactile Sensitivity using a Gratings Orientation Test

Published on: September 17, 2021

Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex01:23

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at the...
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision01:15

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...