Heart Defined Attention in Infancy: Predicting Social Communication and ASD Symptomology

自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一个主要的公共卫生问题，预计每年的费用为 在未来七年内达到近5000亿美元。与ASD相关的核心挑战的减弱是 在婴儿期进行早期识别和干预是可能的。然而，对这门课程的严重缺乏了解 在婴儿早期阶段的ASD仍然是应对这一公共卫生挑战的巨大障碍， 改善ASD患者家庭和个人的生活质量。根据NIMH的战略优先事项， 这个指导性职业发展奖旨在评估一个临床上有用的ASD生物行为标志物， 可以转化为制定新的干预措施，在婴儿期实施。拟议研究 研究注意力的生理测量（“心脏定义的持续注意力”）作为一种 后来出现的社会沟通技能和ASD神经行为标志物。长期 这项研究计划的目标是开发一种早期的生物行为风险标志物和一种新的概念 早期干预的框架，利用神经可塑性，在婴儿期达到顶峰， 此后的重大。布拉德肖博士已经组建了一个专家团队的导师，将指导她的职业生涯 发展，以（1）发展发展心理生理学的理论基础的新的专业知识 注意力在婴儿和ASD人群，（2）获得生物行为评估的方法熟练程度- 基于技术，这将导致对ASD出现的机械理解，（3）获得 复杂纵向数据集的统计分析所需的知识和技术技能， 基本的典型和非典型的发展过程，（4）建立专业技能，以启动一个成功的 独立的研究生涯，以表征发展轨迹和确定临床 有用的ASD生物行为标志物。在发展心理生理学，眼- 跟踪方法和纵向数据分析将使候选人能够收集客观，具体， 注意力的重复测量，从内源性注意力首次出现的发展点开始。 为了磨练将早期社会关注与后期社会沟通联系起来的机制途径，目标1 这项研究的一部分将使用眼动追踪和心率来表征持续注意力的出现 社会和非社会刺激，以及在社会和非社会自然主义的互动，在低风险（LR）和 高危（HR）婴儿在3、6、9和12个月。目标2将确定早期轨迹之间的关联， 心脏定义的持续注意力（3-12个月）和新兴的社交沟通技能和ASD 功能（9至24个月）。拟议的研究和职业发展目标将导致新的 ASD发病机制的概念化，并符合候选人的长期职业目标， 直接转化为制定针对一岁以下婴儿的创新干预战略， 将基于评估的技术纳入早期干预方案。

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) constitutes a major public health concern, with an annual cost projected to reach nearly $500 billion within the next seven years. Attenuation of core challenges associated with ASD is possible with very early identification and intervention in infancy. Yet an acute lack of knowledge about the course of ASD in the early infant period remains a massive barrier to addressing this public health challenge and improving quality of life for families and individuals affected by ASD. In alignment with NIMH's strategic priorities, this mentored career development award aims to evaluate a clinically useful biobehavioral marker of ASD that can be translated to the development of new interventions to be delivered in infancy. The proposed research investigates the utility of a physiological measure of attention (“heart defined sustained attention”) as a neurobehavioral marker of later-emerging social-communication skills and ASD symptomology. The long-term goal of this research program is to develop an early biobehavioral marker of risk and a novel conceptual framework for early intervention, capitalizing on neuroplasticity that peaks in the infant months and diminishes significantly thereafter. Dr. Bradshaw has assembled an expert team of mentors that will guide her career development in order to (1) develop new expertise in theoretical foundations of developmental psychophysiology of attention in infants and ASD populations, (2) gain methodological proficiency in biobehavioral assessment- based technologies that will lead to a mechanistic understanding of the emergence of ASD, (3) acquire the knowledge and technical skills necessary for statistical analysis of complex longitudinal datasets that will reveal underlying typical and atypical developmental processes, and (4) build professional skills to launch a successful independent research career grounded in characterizing developmental trajectories and identifying clinically useful biobehavioral markers of ASD. Intensive, hands-on training in developmental psychophysiology, eye- tracking methodology, and longitudinal data analysis will enable the candidate to collect objective, specific, repeated measures of attention, beginning at a point in development when endogenous attention first emerges. In order to hone in on mechanistic pathways that link early social attention to later social communication, Aim 1 of the proposed study will use eye tracking and heart rate to characterize the emergence of sustained attention to social and non-social stimuli, and during social and non-social naturalistic interactions, in low-risk (LR) and high-risk (HR) infants at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Aim 2 will identify associations between early trajectories of heart defined sustained attention (from 3-12 months) and emerging social-communication skills and ASD features (from 9 to 24 months). The proposed research and career development aims will lead to novel conceptualizations of the pathogenesis ASD and, in line with the candidate's long-term career objectives, translate directly to the development of innovative intervention strategies for infants before their first birthday and the integration of assessment-based technologies into early intervention protocols.