This paper reviews progress over the past 20 years in four areas of research on infant perception and cognition. Work on perception of dynamic events has identified perceptual constraints on perception of object unity and object trajectory continuity that have led to a perceptual account of early development that supplements Nativist accounts.…

Argues that the development of object perception in infancy involves the detection of structural invariants and that such detection is best understood in the context of dynamic events. (Author/MP)

Traditional developmental protocols based on neurological or sensorimotor models frequently underestimate the cognitive status of physically handicapped infants. A critical review of current clinical practices in the area of infant assessment is followed by a discussion of an alternative approach, a perceptual-cognitive approach, and the…

Reviews Greenough, Black, and Wallace's (1987) conceptual framework for understanding the effects of early experience and sensitive periods on development, and illustrates the applicability of their model with recent data on the consequences for animals and human infants of the acquistion of self-produced locomotion. (BN)

Reviews pertinent developmental and neuropsychological literature and arrives at a hypothesis relating the left brain lateralization of speech to the origin of early naming as part of selective (right-biased) orienting to perceived salience or change. (Author/SS)

Focuses on investigations of infant sensation and perception over the past 25 years. Describes the knowledge base concerning the sensory and perceptual world of the infant in the mid-1960s. Methodological highlights in the study of vision and audition are covered. (RJC)

Maintains that one future direction for cognitive development research involves a closer integration with knowledge about the developing brain. Presents a framework for analyzing and interpreting postnatal functional brain development. Discusses three contributing hypotheses, within which a variety of phenomena associated with the neural basis of…

The assessment of vision as it relates to and interacts with motor development is reviewed. The focus is on eye readiness skills normally occuring in infants' first few months of life and preceding eye-hand coordination. These visual skills fall into three categories: fixation, tracking, and scanning. Six standardized scales are reviewed and…

Reviews literature on music perception and cognition in the first year of life and examines their contribution to domains such as child development and music education. Focuses on studies examining musical features and the uses of music in the everyday life of infants and their caretakers. Critiques previous and current literature. Discusses…

Demonstrates the need for a process-oriented, constructivist approach to understanding infants' categorization abilities. Suggests that emphasizing the distinction between perceptual and conceptual categorization has been an obstacle to forging an approach. Proposes a more microanalytic consideration of features available to infants at different…

Goals and challenges pertaining to infant sensory and perceptual development are discussed. It is suggested that the inability of researchers to think and talk wisely about "partial accomplishments" in development creates a barrier in developmental research. Conceptual schemes are needed to accommodate these partial accomplishments. Three major…

The author discusses the role of perceptual training in the education of young perceptually handicapped children. Distinctions are drawn between perception and awareness, and the necessity of stimulation to encourage infant and child learning is emphasized. Commonalities between perception and learning are underscored. The author stresses that…

Examines current research on brain development, focusing on infants' ability to understand basic numerical concepts and arithmetic operations. Asserts that as the brain undergoes dramatic transformations, it already has a built-in capacity to understand basic numerical concepts. Recommends that parents and professionals engage in activities…

Rejects the neuronal fatigue, or selective adaptation, hypothesis of young infant habituation. Holds that studies cited by Dannemiller and Banks do not support the inferences of selective adaptation. Rejects the hypothetical neurophysiological mechanism of neuronal fatigue. Proposes that studies do not indicate that young infants' visual cortical…

Introduces the concepts of online and offline sampling and highlights the role of online sampling in agent-based models of learning and development. Compares the strengths of each approach for modeling particular developmental phenomena and research questions. Describes a recent agent-based model of infant causal perception. Discusses limitations…