The Development of Visual Object Recognition in School-Age Children

Abstract

This study documents the age-dependent development of visual object recognition abilities in 115 children aged 6 to 11 years, using a battery of neuropsychological tests based on Marr's model (Efron test, Warrington's Figure-Ground Test, Street Completion Test, Poppelreuter-Ghent Test, a selection of stimuli from the Birmingham Object Recognition Battery, a series of color photographs of objects presented from unusual perspectives or illuminated in unusual ways). The results suggest a maturation of complex visual perceptual abilities, possibly related to the development of the cerebral processes involved in object recognition, and could be the starting point for future investigations of these skills in impaired populations.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work is part of a broader study on cerebral visual impairment funded by the Italian Ministry of Health (ICS 030.9/RA00–111).

We thank Giovanni Berlucchi for his advice during the development of this protocol and for his revision of the manuscript, the reviewers for their constructive and valuable criticisms, and Catherine Wrenn for her assistance during the translation.