Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Canada.
Dev Sci. 2012 Mar;15(2):194-203. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01116.x. Epub 2011 Nov 2.
We used opposing figural aftereffects to investigate whether there are at least partially separable representations of upright and inverted faces in patients who missed early visual experience because of bilateral congenital cataracts (mean age at test 19.5 years). Visually normal adults and 10-year-olds were tested for comparison. Adults showed the expected opposing aftereffects for upright and inverted faces. Ten-year-olds showed an adultlike aftereffect for upright faces but, unlike the adult group, no aftereffect for inverted faces. Patients failed to show an aftereffect for either upright or inverted faces. Overall, the results suggest that early visual input is necessary for the later development of (at least partially) separable representations of upright and inverted faces, a developmental process that takes many years to reach an adult-like refinement.
我们使用相反的图形后效来研究，因双侧先天性白内障而错过早期视觉经验的患者（测试时的平均年龄为 19.5 岁）是否存在至少部分可分离的直立和倒置面孔的表示。我们对视力正常的成年人和 10 岁儿童进行了测试作为比较。成年人表现出了预期的直立和倒置面孔的相反后效。10 岁儿童表现出与成年人相似的直立面孔后效，但与成年组不同，他们没有倒置面孔的后效。患者既没有表现出直立面孔的后效，也没有表现出倒置面孔的后效。总的来说，这些结果表明，早期视觉输入对于直立和倒置面孔（至少部分）可分离表示的后期发展是必要的，这个发展过程需要多年时间才能达到成人般的精细程度。
