The development of symmetrical OKN in infants: quantification based on OKN acuity for nasalward versus temporalward motion.

We quantified OKN asymmetry in 140 normal infants, 3-24 months old, by varying spatial frequency to determine OKN acuity for temporal-to-nasal (T-N) versus nasal-to-temporal (N-T) motion. At all ages, OKN acuity was asymmetrical (better for T-N than for N-T motion) but the size of the asymmetry decreased from 3.2 to 0.7 octaves between 3-24 months, primarily because of improvements in OKN acuity for N-T motion. The results suggest that immaturities in the cortical pathways involved in OKN persist until at least 2 years of age.