Spontaneous eye blinking in human infants: a review.

Spontaneous eye blinking has been studied in clinical and neuropharmacological research in adult humans and nonhuman primates as a putative index of central dopamine system activity. One purpose of this review is to provide a general overview of the research on spontaneous eye blinking with an emphasis on the relationship between spontaneous eye blinking and central dopamine systems. We suggest that the body of research from human (adults, children, and infants) and nonhuman primates supports the continued empirical investigation of spontaneous eye blinking in human infants. A second purpose is to present approaches for empirical work to further investigate the development, correlates, and mechanisms of spontaneous eye blinking in human infants. The results of further investigation may reveal new insights into relationships between the central nervous system activity and behavior in early human development. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 44: 95-102, 2004.