Pattern and space perception in young infants

Research is reviewed which reveals the surprisingly advanced perceptual skills of very young infants and some changes in these capacities which occur early in life; possible mechanisms which may underlie these changes are discussed. Newborns readily turn toward visual, auditory, and tactual stimulation, indicating that primitive localization systems operate at birth. However, their pattern perception appears to be more limited, with the notable exception of certain facial configurations which may have a privileged status. During the period from 1 to 3 months of life, auditory localization responses decrease substantially from neonatal levels while interest in visual patterns increases; indeed, during this period infants seem to become 'captured' by visual stimuli. By 4 months of age, infants turn rapidly and accurately towards off-centered sounds again, as they begin to reach for visible and invisible sounding objects. Between 3 and 4 months of age, they become sensitive to various types of static pattern regularities such as symmetry and other global configurational properties, and to dynamic aspects of faces (e.g. changes in facial expressions). Major structural maturation of the visual cortex at this age may underlie these new levels of auditory-visual spatial integration and pattern analysis abilities.