[Children visual functions development]

Claude Speeg-Schatz1

  • 1Service d'ophtalmologie, pôle SMOH, hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg Cedex. claude.speeg@chru-strasbourg.fr

La Revue Du Praticien
|March 11, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Vision development is crucial in the first year of life, encompassing more than just visual acuity. Early visual alterations can lead to amblyopia during sensitive developmental periods.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Pediatric Medicine

Context:

  • Infancy represents a critical period for visual system development.
  • Visual function extends beyond acuity to include environmental interaction and motor control.
  • Sensory, oculomotor, and cognitive factors are integral to visual development.

Purpose:

  • To highlight the multifaceted nature of visual development in infants.
  • To emphasize the importance of early visual experiences.
  • To underscore the risks associated with visual impairments during sensitive periods.

Summary:

  • Visual development primarily occurs within the first year of life.
  • Comprehensive visual function involves environmental exploration, spatial awareness, and motor coordination.
  • Disruptions in visual input during critical developmental windows can result in amblyopia.

Impact:

  • Informing early screening protocols for visual impairments in infants.
  • Guiding interventions to mitigate the effects of visual deficits.
  • Enhancing understanding of neurodevelopmental processes related to vision.

Related Concept Videos

Visual System01:26

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Vision01:24

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways01:22

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category, whereas...
Anatomy of the Eyeball01:20

Anatomy of the Eyeball

The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...
Visual Agnosia01:12

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...
Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.