Development of Object Permanence and Visuo-Motor Skills in Infants: Insights from Premature Birth

This study aimed to understand how infants develop their understanding of object permanence and how premature birth can impact their visuo-motor skills. Object permanence refers to the ability to maintain a mental representation of an object even when it is temporarily hidden from view. The researchers evaluated the capacity of three groups of infants: two groups of full-term infants (tested at 5 and 12 months) and a group of preterm infants (tested at 12 months). The infants were presented with a moving object that repeatedly moved along a horizontal path and disappeared behind an occluder. The results showed that full-term infants significantly improved their ability to smoothly track the moving object and predict its reappearance between the ages of 5 and 12 months. This improvement was attributed to neural maturation and increased visual experience. However, 12-month-old preterm infants exhibited impairments in their smooth pursuit systems, which are responsible for tracking moving objects. Nevertheless, their capacity to make anticipatory eye movements was relatively similar to their full-term peers. These findings suggest that premature birth may lead to white matter abnormalities or other complications that can affect the development of the visual dorsal stream, which is responsible for processing motion information. It remains unclear whether these differences reflect a delay in the development of visuo-motor pathways or a long-lasting limitation in their visuo-motor capacity. Further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of how premature birth impacts visuo-motor skills and to identify potential interventions to support the development of infants born prematurely.

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