Type and amount of prenatal stimulation alters perceptual responsiveness in bobwhite quail chicks

Author(s): Lickliter, R.

Journal/Book: Infant Behav Develop. 1996; 19: 355 Chestnut St, Norwood, NJ 07648. Ablex Publ Corp. 325-338.

Abstract: To explore the relationship between the type and amount of sensory stimulation provided prenatally and its impact on postnatal responsiveness to maternal cues, bobwhite quail embryos were exposed to 5 or 10 min/hour of either bobwhite chick contentment calls or bobwhite chick distress calls. Results revealed that embryos exposed to 5 or 10 min/hour of distress calls continued to respond to maternal auditory cues into later stages of postnatal development in comparison to controls and failed to demonstrate species-typical responsiveness to maternal visual cues. In contrast, embryos exposed to 5 min/hour of contentment calls continued to respond to maternal auditory cues into later stages of development and exhibited species-typical patterns of visual responsiveness (72 hour of age). Embryos exposed to 10 min/hour of contentment calls responded to maternal auditory cues into later stages of postnatal development but showed an accelerated responsiveness to maternal visual cues (48 hours of age). Taken together, these results suggest that the type and amount of sensory stimulation interact during the prenatal period to influence the course of perceptual development.

Note: Article R Lickliter, Virginia Polytech Inst & State Univ, Dept Psychol, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA

Keyword(s): prenatal experience; intersensory perception; early perceptual organization; intermodal interference and facilitation; VISUAL RESPONSIVENESS; COLINUS-VIRGINIANUS; AUDITORY-STIMULATION; SENSORY DOMINANCE; EXPERIENCE; DUCKLINGS; EQUIVALENCE

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