Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants

Bacher, Leigh F.; Allen, Kara J.

doi:10.1002/dev.20357

Cited by 21 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Infants at 4 months showed clear evidence of orienting and increased looking at the moving objects (Bacher & Allen, 2009). However, differences between the experimental conditions at 4 and 12 months make interpretation of the effects at 12 months challenging.…”

Section: Manipulation Of Sebmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Development and manipulation of spontaneous eye blinking in the first year: Relationships to context and positive affect

Bacher

2013

Developmental Psychobiology

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The present study explored the development of spontaneous eye blinking (SEB) and its relationship to approach-inhibition behavior during the second half of the first year. The dopaminergic regulation of SEB in adult primates provides an empirical basis for studying blinking in infants, and dopamine's role in infant temperament provides justification for examining approach-inhibition specifically. A longitudinal design with an experimental manipulation was used to examine developmental change in the rate of SEB. Healthy, full-term infants (N = 74) were observed at 4 and 12 months. Blinking rate was observed during a quiet baseline and a randomly assigned stimulus condition. Then, approach-inhibition responses were examined as stimulus objects were presented. Experimental conditions altered blink rate at both ages, but the effects varied by age and stimulus type. At 12 months, individual differences in SEB were associated with positive affect during the approach-inhibition task. The divergent effects for the cognitive and social conditions suggest that the mechanisms regulating blink rate have distinct relationships to these behavioral domains and that these undergo changes during the first year.

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Section: Manipulation Of Sebmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…First, studies of human infants parallel that of adults in that the SEB rate in young infants can be manipulated (e.g., Bacher & Allen, 2009;Bacher & Smotherman, 2004b). Second, recent evidence in infants suggests that central brain mechanisms (as well as peripheral factors) regulate SEB rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Development and manipulation of spontaneous eye blinking in the first year: Relationships to context and positive affect

Bacher

2013

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…Two concealed cameras (one digital, one CCD) were positioned at 140 cm to the infant’s face, with 99 cm distance between the two lenses. (Further details of equipment and configuration have been reported 34). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The observation consisted of 2 primary phases (quiet baseline and stimulus presentation) that were designed as part of a larger, psychological study 34. Measures reported here are taken from the baseline period with the exception that some samples of eye surface area were taken from the stimulus presentation period in order to find the best images.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors Regulating Eye Blink Rate in Young Infants

Bacher

2010

Optometry and Vision Science

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Purpose-The purpose of the present work was to investigate whether individual differences in eye surface area are related to the rate of spontaneous eye blinking (SB) in young infants. Rate of SB was also compared to the rate of gaze shifts.Methods-Forty-four 4-month-old infants were observed under controlled conditions for 4-6 minutes. SB, eye surface area, gaze shifts and various background variables were measured.Results-Individual differences in the rate of SB and in eye surface area were wide. Neither the eye surface area nor the rate of gaze shifting was related to the rate of SB in young infants. However, when SB do occur, they are more likely to coincide with a shift in gaze than immediately precede or follow a shift in gaze. Conclusions-Eye surface area does not explain individual differences in the rate of SB in infancy.This and other recent work suggests that central factors may play a more prominent role in the mechanisms of SB early in human development than previously reported and that the mechanisms regulating the rate of SB appear to be developmentally continuous with those of adults. To the extent that the rate and timing of SB reflects developing neurological systems, SB may be useful clinically. Keywordsspontaneous eye blinking; palpebral fissure; eye surface area; gaze shifts; infants Human infants exhibit low rates (<4 per min) of spontaneous eye blinking (SB). 1, 2 From this low rate of SB in infancy, the rate increases gradually to about 15-30 per min in adulthood [3][4][5] . Current explanations of the low rate of SB in infants compared to adults have focused primarily on the precorneal tear film. The lipid layer of the tear film has been a focal point because it retards evaporation and stabilizes the tear film 6 . In infants, the lipid layer of the tear film is thicker and more stable than in adults 7,8 and the amount of exposed eye surface area is smaller. Following a blink, it is believed that evaporation leads to eye surface cooling which triggers a blink that in turn restores the tear film 9,10 Because adults and infants show similar levels of corneal sensitivity to cooling of the eye surface 10 , the lower SB rate in infants is not due to reduced sensitivity to surface cooling that results when the tear film breaks up. These facts have led to the hypothesis that the low rate of SB in infants is due to the combination of thicker lipid layer and relatively small palpebral aperture and so, as children develop, a thinner tear film is less effective in reducing evaporation and SB are triggered more frequently which is manifested as a developmental increase in SB. 8,10 In contrast, research on adults has identified central as well as peripheral mechanisms that regulate the rate of SB. Peripheral factors that are believed to affect rate of SB include: tear film stability, thickness of the lipid layer, and rate of eye drying 6,9 . Environmental factors

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Using pupil dilation, eye-blink rate, and the value of mother to investigate reward learning mechanisms in infancy

Tummeltshammer

Feldman

Amso

2019

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

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The brain is adapted to learn from interactions with the environment that predict or enable the procurement of rewards ( Schultz, 2010 ). For infants, the main caregiver (often the mother) is most associated with primary biological rewards such as food and warmth, as well as the most likely provider of emotional and social rewards such as comfort and responsiveness. In this study we capitalize on the reward value of mother to examine reward learning mechanisms in infancy using multiple eye-tracking measures. Converging lines of research have demonstrated links between reward-related striatal dopamine activity and measurable changes in spontaneous eye-blink rate (EBR) and pupil dilation (Eckstein et al., 2017). We presented 7-month-old infants with video stimuli that parametrically increased in social-emotional value (male stranger, female stranger, mother) or in visual attention value (static image, slowed silent cartoon, dynamic cartoon). After establishing infants’ baseline responses to these stimuli, we paired the videos with arbitrary shape cues in an associative learning task. Infants showed superior learning from their own mother’s video and a heightened anticipatory arousal response to the mother-associated cue following learning. Both learning measures were predicted by infants’ baseline EBR to their mother’s video, providing the first evidence of reward learning and transfer in human infants.

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Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants

Cited by 21 publications

References 57 publications

Development and manipulation of spontaneous eye blinking in the first year: Relationships to context and positive affect

Development and manipulation of spontaneous eye blinking in the first year: Relationships to context and positive affect

Factors Regulating Eye Blink Rate in Young Infants

Using pupil dilation, eye-blink rate, and the value of mother to investigate reward learning mechanisms in infancy

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