title: Smooth pursuit in 1- to 4-month-old human infants.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Finocchio
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Fuchs
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D004585:Electrooculography; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011698:Pursuit, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology