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Intersensory experience and early perceptual development: postnatal experience with multimodal maternal cues affects
M J Sleigh1, R F Columbus, R Lickliter
1Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg 24061-0436, USA.
Insights
Bobwhite quail chicks need both visual and auditory cues from their mothers after hatching to develop species-specific perceptual preferences. Early sensory integration relies on this combined postnatal experience.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Neuroscience
- Sensory processing
Background:
- The visual system of precocial infants matures post-hatching, unlike other senses.
- The impact of early visual experience on postnatal perceptual development is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of postnatal maternal visual and auditory cues in shaping perceptual preferences in bobwhite quail hatchlings.
- To determine if combined sensory exposure is necessary for species-specific perceptual development.
Main Methods:
- Bobwhite quail hatchlings were exposed to maternal visual and auditory cues under various conditions.
- Experimental groups received combined cues, temporally disparate cues, or single sensory modality cues.
- Perceptual preferences were assessed to evaluate species-typical responsiveness.
Main Results:
- Chicks exposed to both maternal visual and auditory cues post-hatching demonstrated species-specific perceptual preferences.
- Exposure to only visual or only auditory cues failed to elicit typical perceptual responses.
- Temporally separated cues also resulted in a lack of species-typical responsiveness.
Conclusions:
- Postnatal exposure to integrated visual and auditory maternal cues is crucial for developing species-specific perceptual preferences in bobwhite quail.
- Early intersensory integration in perceptual development is supported by combined sensory experiences.
- Developmental mechanisms for early intersensory integration involve both visual and auditory sensory input.
Abstract:
Unlike the other sensory modalities of precocial infants, the visual modality does not normally become functional until after birth or hatching. Despite this unique developmental status, the role of emerging visual experience on postnatal perceptual organization remains unclear. In this study, bobwhite quail hatchlings were reared in conditions that manipulated postnatal experience with maternal visual cues, either alone or in conjunction with maternal auditory cues. Results revealed that bobwhite chicks require postnatal exposure to both maternal auditory and visual cues following hatching to demonstrate species-specific perceptual preferences. Chicks that received temporally disparate maternal auditory and visual cues or experience with only maternal visual or maternal auditory cues failed to show species-typical perceptual responsiveness. These results suggest that developmental mechanisms involving both visual and auditory sensory experience underlie the emergence of early intersensory integration.