The maturation of form and motion perception in school age children

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the maturation of form and motion perception, specifically the component visual abilities involved in the identification of motion-defined form, in children ranging in age from 3 to 12 years. Experiment 1 compared the maturation of motion-defined and texture-defined shape identification. Minimum speed thresholds on the motion-defined shape task decreased until age 7 years. Orientation difference thresholds on the texture-defined shape task decreased until age 11 years. Experiment 2 compared the maturation of global motion and global texture direction discrimination. Coherence thresholds on both tasks were similar in children of all ages and adults. Experiment 3 compared the maturation of direction discrimination on motion coherence and motion displacement tasks. Maximum displacement thresholds (D(max)) increased until age 7 years. The results are discussed with respect to the maturation of M/dorsal and P/ventral visual pathways. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.