How babies' vision and attention change as they start to sit, crawl, and walk
The development of visual behavior in infancy
This project looks at how babies' sight and attention change as they move from lying down to sitting, crawling, and walking.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California at Davis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Davis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11369859 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will show your baby scenes filmed from different viewpoints — for example from a lying-or-crawling perspective versus an adult standing view — and record where your baby looks. They will test infants at ages when they begin to sit, crawl, stand, and walk to see how changes in posture change what babies see and attend to. The team will also use moving (dynamic) scenes to capture how infants follow objects and people as they and their surroundings move. Measurements of looking behavior will be compared across viewpoints and ages to build a picture of typical visual development in infancy.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are infants at the ages when they transition from lying to sitting, crawling, standing, or walking (early infancy/toddler stages).
Not a fit: Older children and adults, or infants unable to visit a lab or to participate in simple looking tasks, are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better knowledge of typical visual attention in infancy could help spot or understand early signs of developmental differences, including in autism.
How similar studies have performed: Previous infant vision studies have mostly used adult viewpoints, so this approach of comparing familiar infant viewpoints and dynamic scenes is relatively novel though built on established looking-time methods.
Where this research is happening
Davis, United States
- University of California at Davis — Davis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Oakes, Lisa M — University of California at Davis
- Study coordinator: Oakes, Lisa M
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.