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Look before you reach: Fixation-reach latencies predict reaching kinematics in toddlers

Drew H Abney1, Christian M Jerry1, Linda B Smith2,3

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA.

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
|November 11, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Longer visual fixation times before reaching predict slower movements in toddlers. This suggests pre-reach planning duration may not directly correlate with reach difficulty, challenging current motor control models.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Motor Control
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • Existing research indicates motor planning occurs after reaching initiation in infants and toddlers.
  • The reach action sequence, however, includes pre-reach visual fixations on the target object.
  • Understanding the role of pre-reach visual processing in motor execution is crucial for developmental studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the latency between initial visual fixation and reaching movement predicts toddler reaching behavior.
  • To explore the relationship between pre-reach planning duration and reach difficulty in toddlers.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a synchronized head-mounted eye-tracking and motion capture paradigm.
  • Analyzed over one hundred reaching sequences from 17 toddlers.
  • Measured fixation-reach latency and reach duration, and assessed reach difficulty using standard factors.

Main Results:

  • Longer fixation-reach latencies during the pre-reach phase were found to predict slower subsequent reaches.
  • No significant correlation was observed between pre-reach planning duration and reach difficulty when measured independently of reach duration.

Conclusions:

  • The duration of pre-reach visual planning is linked to the speed of reaching movements in toddlers.
  • Findings challenge the direct correlation between pre-reach planning duration and conventional measures of reach difficulty.
  • Raises questions about motor control models and developmental changes in action sequencing and planning.

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