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Visual Online Control of Goal-Directed Aiming Movements in Children
Isabelle Mackrous1, Luc Proteau1
1Département de Kinésiologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal QC, Canada.
Insights
Even young children visually monitor goal-directed movements, similar to adults. This automatic visual monitoring and error correction process matures through childhood, suggesting a developing visual-hand information channel.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Motor control
- Visual perception
Background:
- Adults visually monitor the initial impulse of goal-directed movements.
- This visual monitoring is crucial for error correction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if children visually monitor goal-directed movements like adults.
- To determine the developmental trajectory of this visual monitoring ability.
Main Methods:
- Participants (5-12 years old and adults) moved a cursor to a target.
- In some trials, the cursor underwent an unpredictable 20 mm translation after movement initiation.
Main Results:
- Children as young as 5 visually monitored the initial impulse of their movements.
- Visual monitoring and error correction occurred even when the cursor jump was not consciously detected.
- This process appears to mature throughout childhood.
Conclusions:
- Children visually monitor goal-directed movements from an early age.
- The visual monitoring and error correction system develops gradually during childhood.
- A dedicated visual-hand information processing channel likely emerges during development.
Abstract:
The present study investigated whether the initial impulse of goal-directed movements was visually monitored by 5- to 12-years-old children (n = 36) in a manner similar to adults (n = 12). The participants moved a cursor toward a fixed target. In some trials, the cursor was unpredictably translated by 20 mm following movement initiation. The results showed that even the youngest children visually monitor the initial impulse of goal-directed movements. This monitoring and the error correction process that it triggers seem automatic because it occurs even when the cursor jump is not consciously detected. Finally, it appears that this process does not fully mature before late childhood, which suggests that a putative dedicated channel for processing visual hand information develops during childhood.
