Does visual modularity increase over the course of development

Early in postnatal development, the brain produces exuberant connections, some of which are later retracted, a process that is thought to play a role in the formation of functionally segregated modules in the brain. In the case of visual development, retraction between visual areas might underlie the known psychophysical and neural segregation of processing for different aspects of vision (e.g., color, motion, form, depth) known to exist in adults. This review covers the psychophysical evidence for increasing dissociation between visual modules over the course of development, and provides insight into the possible functions of this developmental alteration. Keywords development; color; motion; shape; synesthesia; parvocellular; magnocellular Neuroanatomical evidence has shown that young animals possess transient connections between cortical areas that will subsequently be retracted.1-5,6 Although little is known regarding the behavioral consequences of this neurobiological phenomenon, it has long been conjectured that this transient period of enhanced neural intermingling will create for infants an unusual perceptual experience, with one of the earliest discussions proposing that th