Sensorimotor Behavior in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Unaffected Biological Parents.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Sensorimotor impairments are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and observed in unaffected relatives, suggesting they are potential endophenotypes for inherited risk.
• This study investigates the familiality of sensorimotor impairments across different motor behaviors and effector systems in ASD.
• The research also examines the relationship between these impairments and parental broader autism phenotype (BAP) characteristics.

Approach:

• The study involved 58 autistic individuals (probands), 109 parents, and 89 control participants.
• Participants completed tests assessing manual motor and oculomotor control, focusing on rapid (feedforward) and sustained (sensory feedback) processes.
• Families were subgrouped based on parental BAP status: BAP+ (at least one parent with BAP traits) and BAP- (neither parent with BAP traits).

Key Points:

• Autistic individuals with BAP- parents showed deficits in rapid manual and oculomotor control.
• Autistic individuals with BAP+ parents exhibited impairments in sustained motor control.
• Parents in BAP- families displayed deficits in rapid oculomotor and sustained manual control, indicating familial transmission of these traits.
• Atypical rapid oculomotor impairments were found to be familial.

Conclusions:

• Rapid sensorimotor behaviors are selectively impacted in BAP- probands and their parents, potentially reflecting ASD familial liabilities independent of autistic traits.
• Sustained sensorimotor behaviors were affected in BAP+ probands and BAP- parents, suggesting a link to familial autistic traits that may confer risk when combined with parental autistic liabilities.
• These findings highlight rapid and sustained sensorimotor alterations as distinct familial pathways for ASD risk, interacting uniquely with parental autistic traits.