Attention during looking and reaching as assessed by heart rate in 7½-month-old infants
✍ Scribed by Laura P. O'Sullivan; Neil E. Berthier
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2003
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 139 KB
- Volume
- 42
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0012-1630
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Attention mediates the acquisition and encoding of information about the world and is central to motor action. Heart rate deceleration and behavioral inhibition are sensitive indices of the attentional process, but it is unknown whether these indices are valid in the context of overt action. The current study investigated the relationship between visual attention, action, and heart rate during reaching in 7½‐month‐old infants. We found that infants showed prolonged looking and large heart rate decelerations on reaching and looking trials. We conclude that overt action itself does not prevent the autonomic and behavioral changes that are also seen in attention to simple visual displays and that attention is maintained throughout the act of reaching. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 42: 292–300, 2003.