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，预计每年的费用将 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 在婴儿期及早识别和干预是可能的。然而，对这门课程的知识严重缺乏 ASD在婴儿早期的发病率仍然是应对这一公共卫生挑战的巨大障碍， 改善受ASD影响的家庭和个人的生活质量。与NIMH的战略重点保持一致， 该指导职业发展奖旨在评估ASD的一个临床有用的生物行为标记物 可以转化为在婴儿期提供的新干预措施的发展。拟议的研究 研究了注意力的生理测量(“心脏定义的持续注意”)作为一种 神经行为标记物，后来出现的社交沟通技能和自闭症症状。长期的 这项研究的目标是开发一种早期的风险生物行为标记物和一种新的概念 早期干预框架，利用神经可塑性在婴儿几个月时达到顶峰并逐渐减弱 自那以后意义重大。布拉德肖博士已经组建了一个由导师组成的专家团队，他们将指导她的职业生涯 发展，以便(1)发展心理生理学的理论基础方面的新专门知识 在婴儿和自闭症人群中的关注，(2)在生物行为评估方面获得方法熟练- 将导致对ASD出现的机械性理解的基于技术，(3)获得 对复杂的纵向数据集进行统计分析所需的知识和技术技能 潜在的典型和非典型发展过程，以及(4)建立专业技能，以启动成功的 独立的研究生涯，以描述发育轨迹和临床识别为基础 ASD的有用生物行为标记物。在发育心理生理学、眼科方面的强化实践训练 跟踪方法和纵向数据分析将使应聘者能够收集客观、具体、 重复的注意力测量，从内源性注意力第一次出现的发育阶段开始。 为了磨练将早期社会关注与后来的社会交流联系起来的机械性途径，目标1 将使用眼球跟踪和心率来表征持续注意力的出现 对社会和非社会刺激，以及在社会和非社会自然主义相互作用期间，在低风险(LR)和 高危(HR)婴儿在3、6、9和12个月时。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自闭症 特征(9至24个月不等)。拟议的研究和职业发展目标将导致小说 对ASD发病机制的概念化，并与应聘者的长期职业目标保持一致， 直接转化为为婴儿在一岁生日之前制定创新的干预策略 将基于评估的技术整合到早期干预方案中。

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.