CAREER: The Development of Heading Perception in Infancy

THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEADING PERCEPTION IN INFANCY Rick O. Gilmore Department of Psychology Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 When moving around the environment, animals generate a pattern of visual motion called optic flow. Optic flow provides information about where and how fast the observer is moving. This information is crucial for safely moving through the environment. Despite its importance, very little is known about how the ability to perceive optic flow develops early in life. This project will examine how young infants develop the ability to determine which direction they are moving or heading through the environment. It will examine the role that changes in visual factors, such as acuity or sensitivity to motion, play in the ability to perceive one's heading. The project will examine how infants' emerging abilities to crawl and walk shape their perceptual capacities. The project also will examine how infants develop the ability to use visual information to maintain balance and control posture. The results will provide new information about the development of a perceptual skill that is critical for maintaining balance, avoiding collisions, and moving safely through the environment. In turn, the results will lay the groundwork for future research into the impact of postnatal brain development on other aspects of perceptual and motor development. Finally, this CAREER project will incorporate educational activities that will help to train a new generation of students in the emerging field of developmental