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The onset of binocular function in human infants
Human Neurobiology
|January 1, 1983
Summary
Newborn infants lack cortical binocular function. This visual function develops around 91 days of age, with significant individual variation observed in infants tested longitudinally for visual evoked potentials (VEP).
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Cortical binocular function is crucial for stereopsis and depth perception.
- Its developmental timeline in human infants is not fully understood.
- Assessing early visual development is vital for identifying potential deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the emergence of cortical binocular function in human infants.
- To determine the typical age range for the onset of binocularity.
- To utilize visual evoked potentials (VEP) for objective assessment.
Main Methods:
- Visual evoked potentials (VEP) were recorded in infants.
- A dynamic random-dot correlogram stimulus was employed to specifically elicit binocular responses.
- Newborns and infants longitudinally from 35-50 days were studied.
Main Results:
- No newborn infants demonstrated cortical binocular function using the VEP method.
- The median age for the first evidence of binocular function was 91 days.
- Individual infants showed binocular function between 54 and 105 days of age.
Conclusions:
- Cortical binocular function is absent at birth in human infants.
- Binocularity develops significantly in the first few months of life.
- VEP assessment provides a reliable method for tracking visual development in infants.