Eye movements initiate visual-motor development in the cat.
Visually naïve kittens turn their eyes toward visual targets but lack other visual-motor coordinations. Light-reared animals were able to mediate guided behaviors with an immobilized eye, but animals with the eye immobilized before initial exposure to a lighted environment were not. Eye movement is implied to play an essential role in visual-motor development.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D002415:Cats; D003624:Darkness; D005133:Eye Movements; D007839:Functional Laterality; D008124:Locomotion; D009068:Movement; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000254:growth & development*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology