Attention in the Newborn: Effect on Motility and Skin Potential

Stechler, Gerald; Bradford, Susan Carol; Levy, Howard B.

doi:10.1126/science.151.3715.1246

Cited by 26 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Rotational motion of a nearby non-fixated object interrupted overt attention to the fixated object, shortening the duration of looking by more than 80 percent, and facilitated the reorienting of gaze to the nearby object, increasing the likelihood that reorientation would occur and speeding it by more than a factor of 2 when it did occur. Ongoing body movement, already below baseline during fixation of the first object, was suppressed still further when the non-fixated object began to rotate and gaze had not yet shifted, consistent with the onset of a classic orienting reflex (Sokolov, 1958(Sokolov, / 1965(Sokolov, , 1965Stechler, Bradford, & Levy, 1966).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Robust coupling of body movement and gaze in young infants

Robertson

Johnson

Masnick

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

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ABSTRACT:In the first few months after birth, rapid bursts of body movement precede and possibly facilitate shifts of gaze during free looking, with potential consequences for perception and cognition. Here we report that the characteristic features of movement-gaze coupling found during free looking are preserved when attention is perturbed by a salient change in the visual environment. Twenty-four 3-month-olds looked at two attractive 3-dimensional objects while body movement and corneal reflections of the objects were recorded. Lateral head movement was measured offline. After approximately 2 s of looking at one stimulus, the nonfixated stimulus either began to rotate back and forth (distracter events) or remained motionless (control events). In distracter events, the motion of the nonfixated stimulus triggered substantial motor quieting, shortened the duration of the look, and shortened the time to reorient gaze compared to control events. Abbreviated motor quieting and small increases in lateral head movement occurred during control events at the same time in the look as the protracted motor quieting and increased head movement in distracter events. Despite these perturbations, the characteristic bursts of body movement that precede shifts of gaze during free looking occurred in both distracter and control events. The results demonstrate the robust nature of early movement-gaze coupling, raise questions about the specific role of attention in the dynamic links between body movement and gaze, and highlight the potential short and long term functional significance of movementgaze-attention coupling. ß 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 49: 208-215, 2007.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Robust coupling of body movement and gaze in young infants

Robertson

Johnson

Masnick

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…Until recently there was some question as to whether the GSR could be found in newborns. However, Crowell, Davis, Chun, and Spellacy (1965) and Stechler, Bradford, and Levy (1966) in a study cited above, both found the GSR by careful experimental preparation. Respiration has not received much attention as an orienting reaction component.…”

Section: Autonomic Responsesmentioning

confidence: 94%

Can conditioned responses be established in the newborn infant: 1971?

Sameroff¹

1971

Developmental Psychology

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The learning capabilities of the human newborn are evaluated. Classical conditioning is difficult to demonstrate in the newborn, while operant conditioning is possible. Two hypotheses are evaluated as explanations for difficulties in conditioning the newborn: (a) The newborn is unable to respond to stimulus change, (b) The newborn is able to respond to a general change but cannot respond to specific differences in stimulation. It is proposed that classical conditioning may involve the integration of two sensory modalities: that of the CS and that of the US. The newborn infant must first develop cognitive systems, through his experience with various stimuli, to differentiate each modality separately before he can integrate any two modalities in classical conditioning. The roles of the orienting reaction and defensive reaction are discussed.

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“…The attractiveness of these theories to students of human development is increased by data suggesting the existence of invariance detectors in human newborns (Kessen, Haith, & Salapatek, 1965;Salapatek & Kessen, 1966), and by reports of qualitative differences in "looking" of younger and older infants: The younger infant seems to be "captured by the stimuli" (Ames & Silfen, 1965), to show "obligatory attention" (Stechler & Latz, 1966) in a "vigilant-like state" (Stechler, Bradford, & Levy, 1966); the older infant appears to be "capturing stimuli with his visual behavior" (Ames & Silfen, 1965), to become "aroused" or "excited" by visual stimulation (Stechler & Latz, 1966). Indeed, such differences in looking could reflect qualitatively different experiential states mediated by different neural mechanisms.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the perception of form.

Hershenson¹

1967

Psychological Bulletin

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4 schemes representing the flow of information from stimulus through sensory and perceptual systems to response are proposed in the context of an evaluation of the perceptual potentialities and abilities of the newborn human being. The evidence suggests that the newborn is provided at least some sensory capacities with which to synthesize a perceptual world. Suggestions are offered to facilitate the study of the newborn's ability to perceive form.

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Attention in the Newborn: Effect on Motility and Skin Potential

Abstract: Newborn infants showed lower motility and greater reactivity of the skin potential while attending to a visual target than when equally alert but inattentive.

Cited by 26 publications

References 7 publications

Robust coupling of body movement and gaze in young infants

Robust coupling of body movement and gaze in young infants

Can conditioned responses be established in the newborn infant: 1971?

Development of the perception of form.

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