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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
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Difference in Visual Social Predispositions Between Newborns at Low- and High-risk for Autism

Elisa Di Giorgio1, Elisa Frasnelli1,2, Orsola Rosa Salva1

  • 1CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068, Italy.

Scientific Reports
|May 21, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Newborns at high risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show distinct visual attention patterns to social stimuli. This finding identifies early biomarkers for ASD, enabling earlier detection and intervention strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) behavioral traits may stem from early impairments in subcortical orienting mechanisms.
  • Typical development involves newborns orienting to social visual stimuli, a bias potentially altered in ASD.
  • Diagnosing ASD early is challenging as it's typically identified in children over three years old.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate early predispositions to social stimuli attention in newborns with a high familial risk for ASD.
  • To identify potential early biomarkers for ASD in infancy.
  • To enable a prospective approach to understanding autism's emergence.

Main Methods:

  • Studied visual attention preferences in newborns with high familial risk for ASD.
  • Compared high-risk newborns to low-risk newborns regarding social stimuli visual preferences.
  • Identified significant predictors and a biomarker for high-risk newborns.

Main Results:

  • Visual preferences for social stimuli significantly differed between high-risk and low-risk newborns.
  • Identified specific predictors for high-risk newborns.
  • Discovered an accurate biomarker for early identification of ASD familial risk.

Conclusions:

  • Revealed distinct early behavioral characteristics in newborns with familial risk for ASD.
  • Demonstrated the potential for identifying ASD risk in infancy through visual attention patterns.
  • Opened avenues for prospective research and early intervention in autism.

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