Abstract
Introduction Internal representation of the body's sagittal plane is an important benchmark for an egocentric frame of reference, but little is known about its developmental trajectory. The aim of the present study was to assess this internal body representation with the subjective straight ahead task. Material and methods A total of 131 school-age children aged 4 to 12 years were asked to indicate the directions straight-ahead of the navel, left and right shoulders by pointing manually from a starting position at the middle of their chest. Pointing error was measured in degrees: the distance between the pointing position and the objective centre (left/right distortion). Results Results showed developmental changes that occurred around age 10, with an extinction of internal body representation in children up-to the age of 9 and a compression beyond age 10 similarly to adults. Discussion This finding will be discussed in regard to spatial asymmetries observed in spatial cognition tasks and maturation of the parietal lobe.
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