Visual perception in infants
What is it all about?
Development in the first year of life is the subject of intensive research. The area we are concerned with is the ability of ‘binocular’ or ‘stereoscopic’ vision. Binocular vision is the ability to convert the two perceptual impressions that we receive with our eyes into a spatial impression. We are familiar with this effect from 3D cinema: a two-dimensional screen is transformed into a three-dimensional space in which the protagonists appear to detach themselves completely from the screen, come towards us, take us into their midst or disappear into the depths of the room. This spatial perception is based on binocular vision.
How does binocular perception work?
Each of our two eyes initially ‘photographs’ our surroundings as a two-dimensional image. This means that two two-dimensional images are always created. Due to the different position of the eyes in the face, the two images differ slightly from each other. You can visualise this by focusing on an object in your vicinity, first with one eye and then with the other. The perspective changes, the images are different. It is only in the brain that the two images are put together to form an overall spatial image.
The aim of our research
The ability for binocular (stereoscopic) perception makes decisive developmental progress during the first months of life. On the one hand, we are interested in how exactly this developmental progress takes place. We are also investigating other abilities that develop in the first year of life in which binocular vision is involved. For example, binocular depth vision contributes to the perception of faces and to recognising the exact appearance and spatial position of objects in our environment. For example, we are investigating the extent to which binocular depth vision facilitates the discrimination of faces and whether it helps to recognise an object that briefly disappears behind a wall when it suddenly reappears.
An examination only takes a few minutes. The child sits on the lap of one of the parents. The examination is completely harmless and there are no health risks for the baby. One examination consists of showing the baby 3D images on a special monitor. The monitor is equipped with a device that recognises the exact position of the child's eyes in order to create a clear 3D impression. The baby does not need to wear 3D glasses. We record how long and when the child looks at the images we show. There are no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ reactions. We can tell from the viewing times whether the child has reacted to the three-dimensional impression created by the pictures.
If you are interested in participating or have any questions about the study, please contact our cooperation partner and study director Priv.-Doz. Dr Michael Kavšek (kavsek@uni-bonn.de) or our baby study team (babystudie@hhu.de).