Visual acuity in the young infant is highest in a small retinal area

Visual potentials (VEP) evoked by alternating gratings were recorded daily in one infant between 10 and 13 weeks of age and at 20 weeks of age. The VEP amplitude was measured for a stimulus field of increasing area at low and high spatial frequencies. At low spatial frequencies the VEP amplitude increases with increasing stimulus area, while at high spatial frequencies (near visual acuity) the VEP amplitude remains constant for stimulus field sizes beyond 2 deg. These findings parallel those obtained in the adult, and indicate that visual acuity of the infant is not uniform across the retina but is highest in a small region, as in the adult.