Knowing where things are in the second year of life: implications for hippocampal development.
Prior data have revealed striking contrasts between 18- and 24-month-old children in place learning, an ability known to depend on the hippocampus (Newcombe, Huttenlocher, Drummey, & Wiley, 1998). The current research examined the development of three other basic abilities of mature spatial competence: the representation of multiple locations, the learning of relations among objects, and the recall of a single location after a substantial filled delay. Results indicated a transition from 18 to 24 months in all three abilities. This evidence supports a general transition in spatial representation that occurs towards the end of infancy. Existing neurobehavioral data suggest that a corresponding change in hippocampal functioning underlies this development.
Sluzenski
Julia
J
Temple University, USA. julia.sluzenski@temple.edu
Newcombe
Nora S
NS
Satlow
Eric
E
D000367:Age Factors; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*