Departmental Colloquium: Claes Von Hofsten (Uppsala University): How infants come to control their looking
Abstract 14.10.2015
How infants come to control their looking
Claes von Hofsten
Keeping a stable gaze on the point of interest is of critical importance for the extraction of visual information about the environment. One reason is that although visual acuity is exquisite within the foveal region, it rapidly deteriorates outside it. Another reason is that displacements of retinal images cause gross deteriorations of acuity. Therefore gaze direction has to be adjusted smoothly and continuously to compensate for object motion and body movements. Functional looking does not only include the eyes. They are positioned within a movable head that in turn is placed on a movable body. The head is not only a base for the eye movements, but is itself an active participant in the coordination effort. The gaze stabilization task is dynamic and has to function when the subject as well as the object moves. This requires prediction of what is going to happen next. The system must predict upcoming body movements as well as movements of interest in the environment. Thus, embodied cognition is an important part of gaze control.