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Body-centered representations for visually-guided action emerge during early infancy
1Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. rogilmore@psu.edu
Insights
Infant spatial representations for visually guided actions develop after birth. Younger infants use eye-centered coordinates, while older infants use body-centered coordinates, suggesting development through experience.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive science
Background:
- Understanding the origins of spatial representation is crucial for developmental psychology.
- Previous research suggested body-centered representations might be innate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of spatial representations in infants.
- To determine if body-centered spatial coordinates are present from birth.
Main Methods:
- Applied a 'double-step' saccade paradigm to 3- and 7-month-old infants.
- Analyzed saccade execution in relation to target location and prior eye movements.
Main Results:
- Seven-month-old infants demonstrated body-centered spatial representations, similar to adults.
- Three-month-old infants primarily used retinocentric (eye-centered) spatial representations.
- Younger infants did not account for saccadic displacement effects.
Conclusions:
- Body-centered spatial representations for action emerge after birth, not present from birth.
- Experience likely plays a significant role in the development of these spatial representations.
- Findings challenge prevailing views on the innate nature of body-centered spatial mapping.
Abstract:
The nature of the spatial representations that underlie simple visually guided actions early in life were investigated through the application of a 'double-step' saccade paradigm to 3- and 7-month-old infants. Saccades in the older infants, like those observed in adults, were executed within body-centered spatial coordinates that take into account the effects of intervening eye movements. In contrast, younger infants tended to respond according to the targets' retinocentric locations and did not incorporate the effects of displacements caused by previous saccades. These results indicate that contrary to prevailing views, body-centered representations for action are not present from birth but emerge, probably through experience, over the first few months of life.