Attention during looking and reaching as assessed by heart rate in 7½-month-old infants

Attention mediates the acquisition and encoding of information about the world and is central to motor action. Heart rate deceleration and behavioral inhibition are sensitive indices of the attentional process, but it is unknown whether these indices are valid in the context of overt action. The cur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychobiology 2003-04, Vol.42 (3), p.292-300
Main Authors: O'Sullivan, Laura P., Berthier, Neil E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attention
Child Development
Electrocardiography
Fixation, Ocular
Hand - physiology
heart rate
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Infant
looking
Movement - physiology
reaching
Time Factors
Visual Perception
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Summary:Attention mediates the acquisition and encoding of information about the world and is central to motor action. Heart rate deceleration and behavioral inhibition are sensitive indices of the attentional process, but it is unknown whether these indices are valid in the context of overt action. The current study investigated the relationship between visual attention, action, and heart rate during reaching in 7½‐month‐old infants. We found that infants showed prolonged looking and large heart rate decelerations on reaching and looking trials. We conclude that overt action itself does not prevent the autonomic and behavioral changes that are also seen in attention to simple visual displays and that attention is maintained throughout the act of reaching. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 42: 292–300, 2003.
ISSN:0012-1630
1098-2302
DOI:10.1002/dev.10102