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. 2009 Jan-Feb;80(1):8-14.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01241.x.

Neonatal stepping in relation to terrestrial optic flow

Marianne Barbu-Roth  1 , David I Anderson, Adeline Desprès, Joëlle Provasi, Dominique Cabrol, Joseph J Campos
Affiliations

Neonatal stepping in relation to terrestrial optic flow

Marianne Barbu-Roth et al. Child Dev. 2009 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

This experiment examined whether newborn stepping, a primitive form of bipedal locomotion, could be modulated by optical flow. Forty-eight 3-day-old infants were exposed to optical flows that were projected onto a horizontal surface above which the infants were suspended. Significantly more air steps were elicited by exposure to a terrestrial optical flow specifying forward translation than by a rotating optical flow or a static optical pattern. Thus, a rudimentary coupling between optical flow and stepping is present at birth, suggesting a precocious capacity in the newborn to perceive and utilize visual information specifying self-motion. The findings may help the early diagnosis of infants with visual or visual-motor deficits and the development of visually based interventions for disabled infants.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cartoon showing the experimental set up. An experimenter held the baby above the table with the left hand supporting most of the baby's weight and the right hand lightly touching the base of the baby's sacrum. The index finger of the left hand was used to lightly support the baby's chin and to ensure the baby was looking at the visual stimuli on the table.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The visual stimuli. The checkerboard pattern was either static or translating toward the infant. The pinwheel rotated clockwise.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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