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Visual Cortical Response Variability in Infants at High Familial Likelihood for Autism
Abigail Dickinson1, Madison Booth2, Scott Huberty2
1Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute for Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|April 10, 2026
Summary
Trial-to-trial variability in visual evoked potentials (VEPs) at 6 and 12 months predicted better cognitive and language skills at 24 months in infants at high familial risk for autism. This variability may indicate flexible sensory processing, not inefficiency.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Visual processing matures rapidly in infancy, influencing cognitive, language, and motor development.
- Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) offer a non-invasive method to assess visual system maturation.
- Infants with a familial likelihood for autism exhibit heterogeneous developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between VEP measures and developmental outcomes in infants at high familial risk for autism.
- To determine if trial-to-trial variability in VEPs is a sensitive neural marker of developmental trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Pattern-reversal VEPs were recorded in 177 infants at 6 months and 132 at 12 months.
- Developmental skills were assessed at 24 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III).
- General linear models examined associations between VEP components (P1 latency variability) and developmental scores.
Main Results:
- VEPs showed age-appropriate morphology and developmental changes from 6 to 12 months.
- Greater trial-to-trial P1 latency variability at both timepoints was linked to higher cognitive and language scores at 24 months.
- P1 latency variability was a stronger predictor of outcomes than mean P1 latency.
Conclusions:
- Temporal variability in early visual cortical responses may reflect adaptive sensory circuit flexibility.
- VEP variability serves as a sensitive neural correlate of infant cognitive and language development.
- VEP-based biomarkers provide insights into how early sensory processing supports individual developmental differences.
