Comparison of Sensorimotor Coordination in Deaf and Hearing Infants
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Date
2021-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Infants use their sensory modalities to learn about themselves and the world around them. A common way they do this is during interactions with a parent. Congenitally deaf infants cannot obtain auditory stimuli from their environment, which may be affecting cognitive development during the early months of life. The primary aim of this study was to compare sensorimotor coordination in infants with congenital hearing loss after receiving cochlear implants and age-matched peers with typical hearing. To assess the infants' abilities, we created a joint task for the infant and parent to complete together in a natural environment. We used head-mounted eye-tracking to collect gaze and hand movement data. From this data, we quantified three measures of joint task understanding and execution: action prediction by the infant on their own actions and their parent's actions, synchrony of motor actions by infant and parent, and motor proficiency of the infant. Results indicated no significant difference in performance between deaf and hearing infants for all three measures assessed. These findings suggest that despite the lack of exposure to auditory stimuli during the period prior to cochlear implantation, deaf infants are able to understand and complete tasks with parents at a similar level to typically developing infants. The results also suggested that deaf infants are better able to adapt to complex tasks. This adaptability could arise from the auditory deprivation early in their life that could lead to the use of different techniques to interact with their environment.
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Keywords
cognitive development, deaf, cochlear implants, sensorimotor coordination, head-mounted eye-trackers, parent-child interactions