Across the first year of life, infants show decreased sensitivity to phonetic differences not used in the native language [Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1984). Cross-language speech perception: evidence for perceptual reorganization during the first year of life. "Infant Behaviour and Development," 7, 49-63]. In an artificial language learning…

Investigation supported by Public Health Service Research Grant NB-0-7346 from the National Institute of Mental Health and Grant OEG-3-6-062063-1559 from the U.S. Office of Education.

In these two studies, neonatal oculomotor behavior was observed under various conditions of visual and auditory stimulation. Findings showed auditory and visual perception to be relatively independent during the neonatal period. (Author/JMB)

A high-amplitude sucking procedure, with synthesized female speech, was used to ascertain the effects of fundamental frequency, amplitude, and duration on discrimination of polysyllabic sequences. Results suggest that the exaggerated suprasegmentals of infant-directed speech may function as a perceptual catalyst, focusing the infant's attention on…

Infants were tested for their discrimination of changes in the melodic contour (direction of successive pitch changes) of brief melodies in the context of discernible variations in key or interval size. (PCB)

Ten kindergarteners with no known communication problems were given 10 sets of the "Repetition Task," a procedure used to assess auditory perception, over a span of 5 days. Results suggest the possibility that differences between dysphasic and normal children on the "Repetition Task" may result from differences in perceptual learning. (Author/CL)

Success of cross-modal matching with subjects as young as four years old suggests that it is possible to investigate intermodal organization in young children. (RH)

Infants of 8-28 weeks were tested to determine the smallest sound shift off midline and along the horizontal axis that the infants could reliably discriminate. Results indicated localization acuity increased with age. Video records revealed numerous auditory orienting behaviors with methodological implications. (RH)

Infants' detection of temporal increments to silent intervals "between" groups of tones was compared with their detection of comparable silent increments "within" groups of tones. Results indicated infants discriminated temporally altered sequences from standard only when increments occurred within group. Concludes perceptual…

Findings demonstrate a finer partitioning of auditory space near midline than in hemifields. Discusses implications for an understanding of the development of auditory processing mechanisms in sound localizations. (RH)