Birkbeck, University of London.
Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Child Dev. 2018 Jul;89(4):1394-1404. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12813. Epub 2017 Apr 28.
Visual input during development seems crucial in tactile spatial perception, given that late, but not congenitally, blind people are impaired when skin-based and tactile external representations are in conflict (when crossing the limbs). To test whether there is a sensitive period during which visual input is necessary, 14 children (age = 7.95) and a teenager (LM; age = 17.38) deprived of early vision by cataracts, and whose sight was restored during the first 5 months and at age 7, respectively, were tested. Tactile localization with arms crossed and uncrossed was measured. Children showed a crossing effect indistinguishable from a control group (Ns = 28, age = 8.24), whereas LM showed no crossing effect (Ns controls = 14, age = 20.78). This demonstrates a sensitive period which, critically, does not include early infancy.
在触觉空间感知中，发育过程中的视觉输入似乎至关重要，因为即使是晚期失明（但不是先天性失明）的人，当基于皮肤的触觉外部表示与（四肢交叉时的）外部表示发生冲突时，他们的触觉空间感知也会受损。为了测试在视觉输入必需的敏感时期，研究人员测试了 14 名儿童（年龄=7.95）和一名青少年（LM；年龄=17.38），他们都因白内障而在早期失明，视力分别在 5 个月大前和 7 岁时恢复。研究人员通过测量手臂交叉和不交叉时的触觉定位来测试他们的触觉定位能力。儿童组表现出与对照组无明显差异的交叉效应（n=28，年龄=8.24），而 LM 组则没有表现出交叉效应（对照组 n=14，年龄=20.78）。这表明存在一个敏感时期，而这个时期关键并不包括婴儿早期。
