THE DEVELOPMENT OF INHIBITION OF RETURN IN EARLY INFANCY

The posterior visual spatial attention system involves a number of separable computations that allow orienting to visual locations. We have studied one of these computations, inhibition of return, in 3-, 4-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month-old infants and adults. Our results indicate that this computation develops rapidly between 3 and 6 months, in conjunction with the ability to program eye movements to specific locations. These findings demonstrate that an attentional computation involving the mid-brain eye movement system develops after the third month of life. We suggest how this development might influence the infant's ability to represent and expect visual objects.