Infant vision
Encyclopedia
The science of infant vision gives a verifiable basis for some practices of pediatric ophthalmology
and gathers measurements intended to describe, monitor and predict:
By establishing a timeline of visual perception development in "normal" babies and comparing such data with that of babies with visual "abnormalitites" it is hoped to further the understanding of the role of early visual development in the overall visual picture of sensory growth and change.
Color sensitivity
Visual acuity
Depth perception
Pediatric ophthalmology
Pediatric ophthalmology is a sub-speciality of ophthalmology concerned with eye diseases, visual development, and vision care in children.-Training:...
and gathers measurements intended to describe, monitor and predict:
- development of retinaRetinaThe vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...
l photoreceptor cells - infant sensitivity to detail, color, contrast, and movement
- binocularityBinocular visionBinocular vision is vision in which both eyes are used together. The word binocular comes from two Latin roots, bini for double, and oculus for eye. Having two eyes confers at least four advantages over having one. First, it gives a creature a spare eye in case one is damaged. Second, it gives a...
- eye movements
- refraction
- cognitive processing
By establishing a timeline of visual perception development in "normal" babies and comparing such data with that of babies with visual "abnormalitites" it is hoped to further the understanding of the role of early visual development in the overall visual picture of sensory growth and change.
Visual Development
Light sensitivity- An infant's sensitivity to lightLight sensitivityLight sensitivity or photosensitivity is an increase in the reactivity of the skin to sunlight. Apart from vision, human beings have many physiological and psychological responses to light. In rare individuals an atypical response may result in serious discomfort, disease, or injury. Some drugs...
is much less than an adult. In order to detect the presence of light, a newborn requires 50 times as much light to be present compared to an adult. A three-month-old requires 10 times as much.
Color sensitivity
Color vision
Color vision is the capacity of an organism or machine to distinguish objects based on the wavelengths of the light they reflect, emit, or transmit...
- A newborn baby is only able to see in shades of grey. However, after just one week, they will be able to see red, orange, yellow, and green colors. Babies should be able to see the full rainbow, including blue and violet, by five months.
Visual acuity
- The newborn’s visual acuityVisual acuityVisual acuity is acuteness or clearness of vision, which is dependent on the sharpness of the retinal focus within the eye and the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain....
is approximately 20/400. Acuity improves to about 20/25 at six months and usually reaches 20/20 by age two.
Depth perception
- Depth perceptionDepth perceptionDepth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and the distance of an object. Depth sensation is the ability to move accurately, or to respond consistently, based on the distances of objects in an environment....
will not be present until around the fifth month of age.