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Published on: December 7, 2018
Atypical face versus object processing and hemispheric asymmetries in 10-month-old infants at risk for autism
Joseph P McCleery1, Natacha Akshoomoff, Karen R Dobkins
1Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0109, USA.
Insights
Genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is linked to early atypical face and object processing in infants. High-risk infants show different brain responses to faces and objects compared to low-risk infants.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Genetics
Background:
- Previous research indicates atypical face and object processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
- Investigating early developmental markers is crucial for understanding the genetic basis of ASD.
- This study focuses on 10-month-old infants at high genetic risk for ASD due to an affected older sibling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if genetic risk for ASD is associated with early differences in face and object processing.
- To examine cortical responses in high-risk infants compared to low-risk controls.
- To identify potential early biomarkers for ASD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) to measure brain activity in response to faces and toys.
- Compared latencies and amplitudes of ERP components (P100, N290, P400, Nc).
- Analyzed data from 20 high-risk and 20 low-risk infants.
Main Results:
- High-risk infants showed distinct patterns in N290 and P400 latencies when processing faces versus objects compared to low-risk infants.
- Low-risk infants exhibited faster responses to faces than objects, while high-risk infants showed the opposite pattern.
- High-risk infants also demonstrated faster object processing and atypical hemispheric asymmetry in brain responses.
Conclusions:
- Genetic predisposition to ASD is associated with atypical face/object processing and reduced hemispheric asymmetry in infancy.
- These early neural differences may represent a risk factor contributing to ASD development.
- Findings highlight the importance of early detection and intervention strategies.
Background:
Previous studies have documented atypicalities in face/object processing in children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). To investigate whether such atypicalities may reflect a genetically mediated risk factor present early in development, we measured face/object processing in 10-month-old high-risk infants who carry some of the genes associated with ASD because they have an older sibling diagnosed with the disorder.
Methods:
We employed event-related potentials (ERPs) to measure cortical responses to pictures of faces and objects, the objects being toys. Latencies and amplitudes of four ERP components (P100, N290, P400, and Nc) were compared between 20 high-risk infants and 20 low-risk control subjects (infants with no family history of ASD).
Results:
Responses to faces versus objects differed between high- and low-risk infants for the latencies of the N290 and P400. Differences were driven by faster responses to faces than objects in low-risk, but not high-risk, infants (P400) and, conversely, faster responses to objects than faces in high-risk, but not low-risk, infants (N290). Object responses were also faster in high-risk than low-risk infants (both N290 and P400). Left versus right hemisphere responses also differed between high- and low-risk infants for the amplitudes of the P100, N290, and P400; collapsed across faces/objects, low-risk, but not high-risk, infants exhibited hemisphere asymmetries.
Conclusions:
Genetic risk for ASD is associated with atypical face versus object processing and an atypical lack of hemispheric asymmetry early in life. These atypicalities might contribute to development of the disorder.
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