Functional Connectivity in the Social Perception Pathway at Birth Is Linked to Attention to Faces at Four Months

The right-lateralized social perception pathway, including the superior temporal sulcus, supports processing of dynamic, multimodal facial cues, while the right-lateralized ventral pathway, including the fusiform gyrus, is involved in processing static facial features. However, little is known about the early development of these pathways or their links to later social outcomes. In this study, we examined intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) in these pathways in neonates with and without familial history of autism. We also investigated whether neonatal iFC was associated with reduced attention to faces at 4 months, an early autism biomarker.

iFC was measured in 310 full-term, typically developing neonates from the dHCP (Developing Human Connectome Project) at 41 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) (SD = 1.7) and in 73 full-term Yale neonates with and without a family history of autism at 44 weeks PMA (SD = 1.3). Attention to faces was assessed at 4.1 months (SD = 0.3) via eye tracking in 37 Yale participants.

All 4 pathways showed significant iFC (p < .001), with no sex differences (p > .159). Connectivity in the social pathway increased with age (p < .001). In Yale neonates, only iFC in the right social pathway was positively associated with attention to faces at 4 months (r ₃₇ = 0.456, p = .006). Greater attention to faces predicted fewer social concerns at 18 months (r ₃₃ = -0.358, p = .010).

The right-lateralized social perception pathway represents an area of interest for identifying early neural markers of social vulnerabilities associated with autism.