Smooth pursuit in 1- to 4-month-old human infants.
The ability of human infants < or = 4 months of age to pursue objects smoothly with their eyes was assessed by presenting small target spots moving with hold-ramp-hold trajectories at ramp velocities of 4-32 deg/sec. Infants as young as 1 month old followed such target motions with a combination of smooth-pursuit and saccadic eye movements interrupted occasionally by periods when the eyes remained stationary. The slowest targets produced variable performance, but targets moving 8-32 deg/sec produced consistent pursuit behavior, even in the youngest infants. By the fourth month, eye-movement latency decreased and smooth-pursuit gain and the percentage of smooth pursuit per trial increased for all target velocities, though these measures had not yet reached adult levels.
Phillips
J O
JO
Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
Finocchio
D V
DV
Ong
L
L
Fuchs
A F
AF
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D004585:Electrooculography; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011698:Pursuit, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology