Development of visual motion perception from infancy to early childhood in full-term and premature children: A longitudinal high-density EEG study

Accurate perception of visual motion is crucial for daily activities and develops rapidly from infancy to childhood. High-density electroencephalogram (EEG) was utilized longitudinally to study brain responses to structured optic flow and random visual motion in 10 full-term and 10 preterm children at 4 months, 12 months, and 6 years. Visual evoked potential (VEP) analysis showed improved sensitivity to structured optic flow in full-term infants by the end of the first year, indicating effective use of structured information, whereas preterm children showed delayed sensitivity and difficulty distinguishing between different forms of optic flow until early childhood. Temporal spectral evolution (TSE) analysis revealed desynchronizations predominantly in the theta band at 4 months, transitioning to the theta-alpha band at 12 months, and extending into the alpha-beta band at 6 years. Synchronizations were observed in older full-term infants and in 6-year-olds at higher frequencies, more so in full-term children. Coherence connectivity analysis demonstrated more widespread functional connectivity within occipital and parietal areas in full-term participants compared to their preterm peers when processing visual motion. Overall, full-term children showed vast progress from infancy, approaching an adult-like pattern for perceiving visual motion by early childhood. In contrast, preterm children experienced neurodevelopmental delays that persisted into school age, likely linked to dorsal visual stream vulnerabilities.