The early development of visuo-spatial attention and its impact on social looking
✍ Scribed by Butcher, Phillipa R. ;Kalverboer, Alex F.
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Weight
- 139 KB
- Volume
- 6
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1057-3593
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Research with adult subjects has provided convincing evidence for the existence of a covert visual attention system with the function of modulating shifts in overt visual attention, or gaze. The covert visual attention system becomes functional during the first 6 months of life. However, little is known about the course of its development, or how it may influence concurrent development in other domains. In this article, we examine associations between behavioural indicators of the development of the covert visual attention system and the development of the network of areas in the brain thought to mediate its activity. We argue that the covert attentional behaviours found at different stages in the period between birth and 6 months can be accounted for by the degree of maturation of the different areas in the Posterior Attention System network. We then provide evidence suggesting that the phases in covert attentional development indexed by behavioural and neurological indicators are reflected in changes in the quality of social looking in the same time period. The possible impact of covert visual attentional development on other areas of development is discussed briefly, and areas for further research are suggested.