Developmental changes in gaze patterns in response to radial optic flow in toddlerhood and childhood

A large field visual motion pattern (optic flow) with a radial pattern provides a compelling perception of self-motion; a radially expanding/contracting optic flow generates the perception of forward/backward locomotion. Moreover, the focus of a radial optic flow, particularly an expansive flow, is an important visual cue to perceive and control the heading direction during human locomotion. Previous research has shown that human gaze patterns have an “expansion bias”: a tendency to be more attracted to the focus of expansive flow than to the focus of contractive flow. We investigated the development of the expansion bias in children (N = 240, 1–12 years) and adults (N = 20). Most children aged ≥ 5 years and adults showed a significant tendency to shift their gaze to the focus of an expansive flow, whereas the youngest group (1-year-old children) showed a significant but opposing tendency; their gaze was more attracted to the focus of contractive flow than to the focus of expansive flow. The relationship between the developmental change from the “contraction bias” in early toddlerhood to the expansion bias in the later developmental stages and possible factors (e.g., global visual motion processing abilities and locomotor experiences) are discussed.