Effects of speed, age, and amblyopia on the perception of motion-defined form

We determined the effect of dot speed on the typical and atypical development of motion-defined form perception. Monocular motion coherence thresholds for orientation discrimination of motion-defined rectangles were determined at slow (0.1 deg/s), medium (0.9 deg/s) and fast (5.0 deg/s) dot speeds. First we examined typical development from age 4 to 31 years. We found that performance was most immature at the slow speed and in the youngest group of children (4–6 years). Next we measured motion-defined form perception in the amblyopic and fellow eyes of patients with amblyopia. Deficits were found in both eyes and were most pronounced at the slow speed. These results demonstrate the importance of dot speed to the development of motion-defined form perception. Implications regarding sensitive periods and the neural correlates of motion-defined form perception are discussed.

► Motion-defined form perception continues to mature until age 7 years. ► Perception is most immature at slow speeds. ► Deficits in amblyopia are most pronounced at slow speeds. ► Sensitive periods may be very short for fast speeds.