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Perseveration in congenitally blind children: effects of luminous and acoustic targets on a modified A-not-B task
Maria Caroline da Rocha Diz1, Eliane Mauerberg-deCastro, Maria Fernanda Romani
1College Eisntein at Limeira, SP, Brazil.
Insights
Congenitally blind children perseverated on a reaching task with light but not sound. Auditory targets were more relevant for reaching in blind children than luminous stimuli.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Perseveration is a common behavior in infant development, particularly in reaching tasks.
- Understanding sensory processing in blind children is crucial for cognitive development research.
- The A-not-B task is a standard paradigm for assessing object permanence and cognitive development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate perseverative behaviors in congenitally blind children using a modified Piagetian A-not-B reaching task.
- To compare perseveration in blind children under luminous (visual) versus acoustic (auditory) target conditions.
- To analyze the influence of sensory modality on reaching behavior and cognitive performance in blind children.
Main Methods:
- Ten congenitally blind children (ages 1-4) with residual light sensitivity participated.
- Participants performed a modified A-not-B reaching task with both luminous and acoustic targets.
- Behavioral and kinematic data, including reach initiation time and head-reaching coupling, were collected.
Main Results:
- All blind children exhibited perseveration with luminous targets, similar to sighted infants.
- None of the children perseverated when using acoustic targets.
- Acoustic targets facilitated more direct reaching and faster movement initiation compared to luminous targets.
Conclusions:
- Sound is a more relevant sensory input for reaching tasks in congenitally blind children than luminous stimuli.
- Luminous stimuli can elicit perseverative reaching behaviors in blind children, mirroring findings in sighted infants.
- Sensory modality significantly impacts motor control and cognitive performance in blind children's reaching tasks.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not blind children perseverate during a modified Piagetian A-not-B reaching task, with conditions that employ luminous AB targets and acoustic AB targets. Ten congenitally blind children, ages 1-4 years, with residual vision for light, took part in this study. Behavioral and kinematic data were computed for participants' reaches, performed in six A trials and in two B trials, in both stimulus conditions. All of the children perseverated in the luminous condition, and none of them perseverated in the condition using acoustic targets. The children tilted their heads in the direction of the target as they reached towards it. However, this coupling action (head-reaching) occurred predominantly in the A trials in the acoustic condition. In the luminous condition, in contrast to the acoustic condition, the children took longer times to initiate the reaching movement. Also, in the luminous condition, the children explored the target surroundings, unlike the acoustic condition, in which they reached straight ahead. For these blind children, sound was more relevant to reaching than was the luminous stimulus. The luminous input caused perseveration in congenitally blind children in a similar way that has been reported in the literature for typically-developing, sighted infants, ages 8-12 months, performing A-not-B tasks with visual inputs.
