ABSTRACT
Throughout the history of research in visual development, a variety of mechanisms have been hypothesized to underlie the developmental changes in vision that occur between birth and adulthood. Bronson (1974), for example, suggested that the visual responses of the newborn are based on subcortical pathways, and that the changes seen in the quality of visual responses during infancy are the result of the maturation of cortical pathways. Maurer and Lewis (1979) also emphasized the importance of cortical maturation. However, they suggested that visual responses in early infancy are mediated by the X pathway to the visual cortex and the Y pathway to the superior colliculus and pretectum, and that the changes in visual responsiveness that occur during infancy are the result of maturation of the Y pathway to the cortex.
