Peripheral vision in children.

A comparison of peripheral vision in adults and children showed that children had reduced sensitivity in a standard visual field examination. The constriction of the visual field amounted to 0.4 log units at 30 degrees excentricity in a static perimetric test. This loss was maintained in a spatial forced choice experiment without foreknowledge of target location. However, in a temporal forced choice experiment with foreknowledge of target position the difference between children and adults was reduced to 0.1 log units. It is thought, therefore, that the former visual loss in children is due to the nature of the task rather than to deficiencies in the visual mechanisms.