Acceso usuarios
Clarisse Baruch
This review presents the data currently available, which have considerably grown since twenty years, on the development of audition from birth and during childhood. First, basic abilities are screened : absolute thresholds, differential intensity and frequency thresholds, frequency resolution, localization, temporal acuity are presented successively. Recent interpretations concerning the immaturity of some of these abilities which seems to persist several years (specially auditory thresholds) are discussed. The discrepancies between results obtained in several studies are noted : population differences (particularly on age), and metholodogical differences (specially electrophysiological versus behavioral) . Most of current research, in infants as in adults, concerns the promising topic of auditory organization : infants' abilities in complex auditory perception of sequences, which implies sequential and temporal integration, seem to be accurate very precociously. The main data in grouping, streaming, tempo and melodic perception are presented.
Nevertheless, infants' and childrens' auditory perception is still very incomplete. For each topic, contradictions and gaps are indicated, to foster further research and reflections.
