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Early development of sensitivity to radial motion at different speeds

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Abstract

We examined the sensitivity of 2- and 3-month-old infants to radial expansion/contraction at various speeds. The stimuli comprised one radial motion pattern (expansion or contraction) and one translational motion pattern (up, down, left or right; counterbalanced across infants) placed side by side. The two patterns in each stimulus had the same speed. Three-month-old infants could discriminate between radiation and translation, even under relatively low speeds (5.31 and 2.66°/s), whereas discrimination between the two patterns by 2-month-old infants was very limited. Thus, the range of speeds at which infants can detect radial expansion/contraction changes extensively between 2 and 3 months of age. This change in radial motion sensitivity may reflect the development of cortical motion mechanisms in the dorsal pathway, which is specialised to detect radial motion.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our participants and their families for their kind cooperation, and Yumiko Otsuka, Hiroko Konuma, Emi Nakato, Hiromi Okamura and Tomoko Imura for their assistance in data collection. This research was financially supported by the foundation of technology supporting the creation of digital media contents from Japan Science and Technology Agency (to M.K.Y), and grants-in-aid for scientific research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (15500172, 18000090 to M.K.Y. and 19-1464 to N.S.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 minamiohsawa, Hachiohji-city, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan

    Nobu Shirai

  2. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 6 Ichibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-8471, Japan

    Nobu Shirai

  3. Department of Psychology, Shukutoku University, Daiganji 200, Chuo-ku, Chiba-city, Chiba, 260-0812, Japan

    So Kanazawa

  4. Department of Psychology, Chuo University, 742-1, Hlgashinakano, Hachiohji-city, Tokyo, 192-0393, Japan

    Masami K. Yamaguchi

  5. PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 3-5, Sanbancho, Chiyodaku-ku, Tokyo, 102-0075, Japan

    Masami K. Yamaguchi

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  1. Nobu Shirai
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  3. Masami K. Yamaguchi
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Correspondence to Nobu Shirai.

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Shirai, N., Kanazawa, S. & Yamaguchi, M.K. Early development of sensitivity to radial motion at different speeds. Exp Brain Res 185, 461–467 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-007-1170-2

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