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Published on: December 7, 2018
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, California, USA.
Insights
Infant visual evoked potentials (VEPs) show that variability in response timing, not just average speed, predicts better cognitive and language skills. This suggests early visual system flexibility is key for development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Visual processing develops rapidly in infancy, influencing cognitive, language, and motor skills.
- Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) noninvasively measure visual system maturation.
- Infants with a high familial likelihood for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit heterogeneous developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between VEP measures and later developmental outcomes in infants at high familial risk for ASD.
- To determine if VEP component variability, specifically P1 latency, is associated with cognitive, language, and motor development.
Main Methods:
- Pattern-reversal VEPs were recorded at 6 and 12 months in infants with an older sibling with ASD.
- Developmental skills were assessed at 24 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-4).
- General linear models analyzed associations between VEP measures (amplitude, latency, trial-to-trial variability) and 24-month developmental scores.
Main Results:
- Robust VEPs were observed, showing expected developmental changes like decreased P1 latency and amplitude from 6 to 12 months.
- Greater trial-to-trial variability in P1 latency at both 6 and 12 months was associated with higher cognitive and language scores at 24 months.
- Mean P1 latency and amplitude were not associated with developmental outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Temporal variability in early visual responses, specifically P1 latency, may indicate adaptive sensory-circuit flexibility.
- VEP response-timing variability could serve as an early mechanistic marker for sensory-circuit organization and later developmental trajectories.
- This finding highlights the importance of considering response variability in assessing early neurodevelopmental processes.
Abstract:
Visual processing undergoes rapid development in the first year of life, supporting the emergence of higher-order cognitive, language, and motor functions. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) provide a noninvasive measure of visual system maturation that may shed light on heterogeneous developmental trajectories among infants at high familial likelihood for autism. Infants with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (N = 177 at 6 months; N = 132 at 12 months) participated in the Infant Brain Imaging Study-Early Prediction (IBIS-EP) study. Pattern-reversal VEPs were recorded at 6 and 12 months, and developmental skills were assessed at 24 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-4). VEP components (P1 and N1) were characterized by their amplitude and latency, as well as trial-to-trial variability in these measures. Associations with 24-month cognitive, language, and motor scores were examined using general linear models controlling for age, site, sex, and trial count. Robust VEPs were observed at both time points, with age-appropriate morphology and expected developmental changes, including decreases in P1 latency and amplitude from 6 to 12 months. Greater trial-to-trial variability in P1 latency at both time points was associated with higher cognitive and language scores at 24 months. In contrast, conventional measures of mean P1 latency and amplitude were not associated with developmental outcomes. These findings suggest that temporal variability in early visual responses may index adaptive sensory-circuit flexibility during a period of rapid experience-dependent development. VEP response-timing variability may therefore provide an early mechanistic marker of sensory-circuit organization relevant to later developmental trajectories.
