Audiovisual speech consists of overlapping and invariant patterns of dynamic acoustic and optic articulatory information. Research has shown that infants can perceive a variety of basic auditory-visual (A-V) relations but no studies have investigated whether and when infants begin to perceive higher order A-V relations inherent in speech. Here, we…

Available evidence indicates that experience with one face from a specific age group improves face-processing abilities if acquired within the first 3 years of life but not in adulthood. In the current study, we tested whether the effects of early experience endure at age 6 and whether the first 3 years of life are a sensitive period for the…

Data suggest that young infants (110-130 days old) process distinctive features of objects that continuously change orientation. The importance of these findings for theories of cognitive and perceptual development of infants is discussed. (Author/DB)

Outlines two competing hypotheses concerning the nature of inter-modal sensory development. Research on auditory-visual coordination in young human infants is reviewed. It is concluded that the data support the notion of ontogenetic development being a process of intergration between sensory systems that are initially relatively independent.…