The development of human visual cortex and clinical implications

Siu, Caitlin; Murphy, Kathryn

doi:10.2147/eb.s130893

Cited by 102 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 160 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For instance, unlike machine learning algorithms, human infants experience an egocentric view where not all items in the environment are in view and with many repeated occurrences of a very few items (Smith & Slone, 2017). If machine learning aims to mimic human learning, the current study highlights yet another important factor that should be taken into consideration-that developmental differences in this key mechanism of visual attention, and other perhaps interacting anatomical and physiological mechanisms of vision (Siu & Murphy, 2018), result in ever changing and diverse visual experiences or input across development, but despite this, visual learning and the maturity of the visual system still takes place.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Development of spatial suppression surrounding the focus of visual attention

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In adulthood, research has demonstrated that surrounding the spatial location of attentional focus is a suppressive field, resulting from top-down attention promoting the processing of relevant stimuli and inhibiting surrounding distractors (e.g., Hopf et al., 2006). It is not fully known, however, how this phenomenon manifests during development. This is an important question since attention processes are likely even more critical in development because of their potential impact on learning and day-today activities. The current study examined whether spatial suppression surrounding the focus of visual attention, a predicted by-product of top-down attentional modulation, is observed in development. A wide age range separated in six incremental age levels was included, allowing for a detailed examination of potential differences in the effect of attention on visual processing across development. Participants between 12 and 27 years of age exhibited spatial suppression surrounding their focus of visual attention. Their accuracy increased as a function of the separation distance between a spatially cued (and attended) target and a second target, suggesting that a ring of suppression surrounded the attended target. Attentional surround suppression was not observed in 8to 11-years-olds, even with a longer spatial cue presentation time, demonstrating that the lack of the effect at these ages is not due to slowed attentional feedback processes. Our findings demonstrate that topdown attentional processes exhibit functional maturity beginning around 12 years of age with continuing maturation of their expression until 17, which likely impacts education and the diagnosis of visual and cognitive clinical pathologies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Development of spatial suppression surrounding the focus of visual attention

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A large body of research demonstrates that basic visual functions such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, motion perception, and binocularity undergo significant improvement during the first year of life (Atkinson & Braddick, ); however, the maturation process continues over the next several years (e.g., binocularity: Giaschi, Narasimhan, Solski, Harrison, & Wilcox, ; motion perception: Hadad, Maurer, & Lewis, ; visual acuity and contrast sensitivity: Leat, Yadav, & Irving, ). Recent research demonstrates that improvements in behavior during development are associated with a wide range of neurobiological changes in the primary visual cortex, including changes in morphology, connectivity, and the balance between excitatory and inhibitory synapses (reviewed in Gilmore, Knickmeyer, & Gao, ; Siu & Murphy, ). Importantly, the primary visual cortex is the origin of two anatomically distinct and functionally semi‐independent cortical pathways, with one extending ventrally to the temporal cortex, and the other dorsally to the parietal cortex (Goodale, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concurrent maturation of visuomotor skills and motion perception in typically‐developing children and adolescents

Niechwiej-Szwedo

Meier

Christian

et al. 2019

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perceptual and visuomotor skills undergo considerable development from early childhood into adolescence; however, the concurrent maturation of these skills has not yet been examined. This study assessed visuomotor function and motion perception in a cross‐section of 226 typically‐developing children between 4 and 16 years of age. Participants were tested on three tasks hypothesized to engage the dorsal visual stream: threading a bead on a needle, marking dots using a pen, and discriminating form defined by motion contrast. Mature performance was reached between 8 and 12 years, with youngest maturation for kinematic measures for a reach‐to‐grasp task, and oldest maturation for a precision tapping task. Performance on the motion perception task shared no association with motor skills after controlling for age.

show abstract

“…In addition, other physiological factors may contribute to perceptual maturation [ 67 ], such as the structural development of the perceptual visual networks up to late adolescence [ 18 ]. Intracortical myelin in the visual cortex increases up to adulthood [ 68 , 69 ] and cortical thickness decreases with age [ 70 , 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of global visual processing: From the retina to the perceptive field

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Young children exhibit poorer visual performance than adults due to immaturity of the fovea and of the fundamental processing of visual functions such as masking and crowding. Recent studies suggest that masking and crowding are closely related to the size of the fundamental processing unit—the perceptive field (PF). However, while it is known that the retina and basic visual functions develop throughout childhood, it is not clear whether and how changes in the size of the PF affect masking and crowding. Furthermore, no retinal and perceptual development data have been collected from the same cohort and time. Here we explored the developmental process of the PF and the basic visual functions. Psychophysical and imaging methods were used to test visual functions and foveal changes in participants ranging from 3–17 years old. Lateral masking, crowding and contrast sensitivity were tested using computerized tasks. Foveal measurements were obtained from spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). The children patterns below 6 years exhibited high crowding, while the expected facilitation was found only at a larger target-flanker distance than required for children above 6 years, who exhibited the typical adult. Foveal thickness and macular volume for the children below 6 years were significantly lower than for the older group. Significant correlation was found for contrast sensitivity, foveal thickness and macular volume with age and between contrast sensitivity and foveal thickness. Our data suggest that the developmental processes at the retina and visual cortex occur in the same age range. Thus, in parallel to maturation of the PF, which enables reduction in crowding, foveal development contributes to increasing contrast sensitivity.

show abstract

The development of human visual cortex and clinical implications

Cited by 102 publications

References 160 publications

Development of spatial suppression surrounding the focus of visual attention

Development of spatial suppression surrounding the focus of visual attention

Concurrent maturation of visuomotor skills and motion perception in typically‐developing children and adolescents

Development of global visual processing: From the retina to the perceptive field

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About