Infants code the direction of chromatic quadrature motion

Does visual modularity increase over the course of development?

Early in postnatal development, the brain produces exuberant connections, some of which are later retracted, a process that is thought to play a role in the formation of functionally segregated modules in the brain. In the case of visual development, retraction between visual areas might underlie the known psychophysical and neural segregation of processing for different aspects of vision (e.g., color, motion, form, depth) known to exist in adults. This review covers the psychophysical evidence for increasing dissociation between visual modules over the course of development, and provides insight into the possible functions of this developmental alteration.

The Purkinje rod-cone shift as a function of luminance and retinal eccentricity

In the Purkinje shift, the dark adapted eye becomes more sensitive to blue than to red as the retinal rods take over from the cones. A striking demonstration of the Purkinje shift, suitable for classroom use, is described in which a small change in viewing distance can reverse the perceived direction of a rotating annulus. We measured this shift with a minimum-motion stimulus (Anstis & Cavanagh, Color Vision: Physiology & Psychophysics, Academic Press, London, 1983) that converts apparent lightness of blue versus red into apparent motion. We filled an iso-eccentric annulus with radial red/blue sectors, and arranged that if the blue sectors looked darker (lighter) than the red sectors, the annulus would appear to rotate to the left (right). At equiluminance the motion appeared to vanish. Our observers established these motion null points while viewing the pattern at various retinal eccentricities through various neutral density filters.

RESULTS

The luminous efficiency of blue (relative to red) increased linearly with eccentricity at all adaptation levels, and the more the dark-adaptation, the steeper the slope of the eccentricity function. Thus blue sensitivity was a linear function of eccentricity and an exponential function of filter factor. Blue sensitivity increased linearly with eccentricity, and each additional log(10) unit of dark adaptation changed the slope threefold.

Development of psychophysically-derived detection contours in L- and M-cone contrast space

In order to investigate the development of color mechanisms in infants we fitted elliptical detection contours to psychophysically-derived contrast thresholds plotted in L- and M-cone contrast space. Detection ellipses were obtained for 47 infants (ages 2-5 months of age), and were compared to those of six adults tested under nearly identical conditions. The parameters of the fitted ellipses allowed us to address several aspects of color development. First, the lengths and widths were used to assess the relative development of chromatic, with respect to luminance, sensitivity. The results of these analyses revealed a sharp increase in chromatic sensitivity between 3 and 4 months of age, suggesting an accelerated development of chromatic mechanisms around this time. Second, the angles of the ellipses provided estimates of individual red/green isoluminance points. In line with previous reports, we found that isoluminance points do not vary significantly with age. Finally, our ellipse-fitting procedures were used to assess whether color sensitivity is best described by a model that assumes independence between post-receptoral chromatic and luminance mechanisms. Similar to previous results of Kelly and Chang [Kelly, J. P. & Chang, S. (2000). Vision Research 40, 1887-1906] obtained using steady-state visually evoked potentials, only a proportion (approximately half) of our infants exhibited detection contours that were consistent with independent mechanisms, a finding that most likely results from statistical noise in the infant data sets.

Infant color vision: sharp chromatic edges are not required for chromatic discrimination in 4-month-olds

In our previous demonstrations of chromatic discrimination in infants, we have used test and surround fields of different chromaticities that abutted each other at sharp chromatic edges. In order to see whether sharp chromatic edges are necessary for infants to make chromatic discriminations, 16-week-old infants were tested with three stimulus configurations in which sharp chromatic edges were eliminated. The three edge manipulations involved black borders, a dark surround, or blurred edges around the chromatic test field. In each case red, green, and violet test fields were used. Although performance decreased when sharp chromatic edges were eliminated, observers' percent correct scores remained clearly above chance for eight of the nine discriminations (three colors x three edge manipulations). We argue that all three edge manipulations reduce the likelihood of mediation of chromatic discrimination by M (magnocellular) cells. These data thus provide evidence that young infants have functional P (parvocellular) pathways, and use them for making chromatic discriminations.

Infant temporal contrast sensitivity functions (tCSFs) mature earlier for luminance than for chromatic stimuli: evidence for precocious magnocellular development?

In order to investigate the development of luminance and chromatic temporal contrast sensitivity functions (tCSFs), we obtained chromatic and luminance contrast thresholds from individual 3- and 4-month old infants, and compared them to previously obtained functions in adults. Stimuli were moving sinusoidal gratings of 0.27 cyc/deg, presented at one of five temporal frequencies: 1.0, 2.1, 4.2, 9.4 or 19 Hz (corresponding speeds: 3.8, 7.7, 15, 34, 69 deg/s). Previous studies, including our own, have shown that adult tCSFs are bandpass for luminance stimuli (peaking at 5-10 Hz), yet lowpass for chromatic stimuli (sensitivity falling at > 2 Hz), and that the two functions cross one another near 4-5 Hz when plotted in terms of cone contrast. In the present study, we find that the shapes and peaks of the luminance tCSF in both 3- and 4-months-olds appear quite similar to those of adults. By contrast, chromatic tCSFs in infants are markedly different from those of adults. In agreement with our earlier report (Dobkins, K. R., Lia, B., & Teller, D. Y. (1997). Vision Research, 37(19), 2699-2716), the chromatic function in 3-month-olds is rather flat, lacking the sharp high temporal frequency fall-off characteristic of the adult function. In addition, the luminance tCSF in 3-month-olds is elevated above the chromatic tCSF, and the two functions do not exhibit an adult-like cross-over within the range of temporal frequencies tested. By 4 months of age, substantial development of chromatic contrast sensitivity takes place at the lowest temporal frequencies. Although still immature, the 4-month-old chromatic tCSF has begun to adopt a more adult-like shape. In addition, similar to adults, luminance and chromatic tCSFs in 4-month-olds cross one another near 5 Hz. In adults, magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) pathways are thought to underlie the bandpass luminance and lowpass chromatic tCSF, respectively (e.g. Lee, B. B., Pokorny, J., Smith, V. C., Martin, P. R., & Valberg, A. (1990). Journal of the Optical Society of America (a), 7(12), 2223-2236). Based on this correspondence between psychophysical and neural responses in adults, our results suggest that the relatively slow development of the chromatic tCSF in infants may reflect immature chromatic responses in the P pathway and/or reliance on chromatic responses originating in the M pathway.