Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
08:38
Electroretinogram Recording for Infants and Children under Anesthesia to Achieve Optimal Dark Adaptation and International Standards
Published on: September 3, 2020
Infants and adults reaching in the dark
Erin Babinsky1, Oliver Braddick, Janette Atkinson
1School of Optometry, Indiana University, 800 E. Atwater Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. ebabinsk@indiana.edu
Experimental Brain Research
|December 27, 2011
Summary
Infants reaching in the dark move faster but less precisely than adults, suggesting their movements rely on internal visual memory, which may be immature.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Motor control
- Visual perception
Background:
- Infants can reach for objects in darkness, indicating some visual processing without direct sight.
- The role of vision, visual representations, and visual feedback in controlling reaching movements is not fully understood, especially during development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of vision and stored visual representations in infant and adult reach control.
- To compare reaching kinematics across different illumination conditions to understand visual dependencies.
Main Methods:
- Measured reaching movements in 9- to 16-month-old infants and adults under four illumination conditions: full light, glowing object, immediate darkness, and delayed darkness.
- Analyzed reach kinematics such as average speed and straightness.
Main Results:
- Infants reached faster and decelerated for a shorter duration in darkness compared to light.
- Adults reached slower and decelerated for a longer duration in darkness compared to light.
- No significant difference was observed in infant reaching with a glowing object versus full vision.
Conclusions:
- Infant reaching is primarily affected when the target is not visible, with less reliance on vision of the arm or reach space.
- Dark reaching in infants appears to be controlled by feedforward mechanisms, potentially limited by immature visual spatial memory.
- Adults show greater adaptation to darkness, suggesting more robust visual spatial memory and feedback control.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Photoreceptors 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...
01:18Nightmares and Night Terrors
Nightmares and night terrors represent two distinct types of sleep disturbances that differ in timing, characteristics, and the sleeper's recall of the event. Nightmares are vivid, disturbing dreams that usually awaken the sleeper from REM sleep, a stage of sleep where brain activity is high, and dreams are most frequent. Upon awakening, individuals often have detailed recollections of their nightmares, which can include themes of threats to survival, security, or self-esteem.
Nightmares often...
Nightmares often...
01:14Piaget'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...
Exploration...