Abstract

Development of spatiotemporal mechanisms during infancy was studied by measuring temporal contrast sensitivity of eighteen infants at 2.1, 8.3, and 33 Hz using 1.0-cycle/deg spatially localized patterns. A large increase in contrast sensitivity between 3 and 7 months of age was found at 8.3 Hz but not at 2.1 or 33 Hz. The data were analyzed in terms of a model using multiple spatiotemporal mechanisms which change in spatial scale between 3 and 7 months of age. Of the mechanisms sensitive to 1.0 cycle/deg, those with bandpass temporal tuning appear to increase in sensitivity more rapidly than those with low-pass temporal tuning.

© 1988 Optical Society of America