The developmental trajectory of pointing perception in the first year of life

Exp Brain Res. 2015 Feb;233(2):641-7. doi: 10.1007/s00221-014-4143-2. Epub 2014 Nov 15.

Abstract

The present study investigated the development of the neural basis of pointing perception in 6-month- and 13-month-old infants. In a spatial-cueing paradigm, infants were presented with a peripheral target followed by a hand pointing toward (congruent condition) or away (incongruent condition) from the previously cued location. EEG responses to the presentation of the hand were measured. Thirteen-month-olds demonstrated larger amplitudes of ERP component P400 to incongruent compared to congruent pointing gestures over posterior temporal areas; 6-month-olds did not show any differential activation. This result suggests that the neural correlates of pointing perception undergo substantial development between 6 and 13 months of age.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Child Development / physiology*
  • Cues*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Evoked Potentials / physiology*
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality
  • Hand / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Movement / physiology*
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual
  • Perception / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Reaction Time