Divergent biases for conspecifics as early markers for Autism Spectum Disorders

对同种人作为自闭症谱系障碍早期标记的不同偏见

• 批准号: 8400260
• 负责人: Athena Vouloumanos
• 金额: $ 26.96万
• 依托单位: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2017-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8400260
• 关键词: Address; Age; Age-Months; Attention; Auditory; Autistic Disorder; Behavior; Behavioral; Biological; Biological Markers; Biological Process; Birth; Characteristics; Child; Clinical; Cognitive; Collaborations; Complex; Control Groups; Data; Development; Diagnosis; Diagnostic; Disease; Early identification; Early treatment; Face; Goals; Group Processes; Human; Impairment; Individual; Infant; Intervention; Language; Language Development; Life; Linguistics; Link; Maps; Measures; Mediating; Methods; Monitor; Parents; Phenotype; Physicians; Probability; Process; Protocols documentation; Recurrence; Reporting; Research; Risk; Risk Marker; Role; Schedule; Screening procedure; Siblings; Social Development; Speech; Stimulus; Testing; Visual; Voice; autism spectrum disorder; base; clinical phenotype; comparison group; directed attention; high risk; high risk infant; improved; indexing; meetings; nonhuman primate; parental role; preference; programs; prospective; skills; social; social communication; sound; tool; visual process; visual processing; vocalization

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Typically developing infants have fundamental perceptual biases that direct their attention to socially relevant stimuli such as voices and faces Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show apparent deficits in auditory and visual processing of the voices and faces of their own species (conspecifics). We propose a prospective, experimental, longitudinal approach examining whether infants who lack foundational perceptual biases to attend to auditory and visual characteristics of conspecifics are more likely to develop deficits in social communication skills that are characteristic of ASD symptomology. By focusing on foundational and species-typical perceptual processes rather than complex skills, we hope to uncover earlier reliable markers and a mechanistic understanding compared with existing studies with high-risk siblings. This proposal has two short-term goals. The first goal is to help identify very young infants who have an increased risk for later social impairments typical of ASD by examining how they perceive voices and faces, the socially-relevant characteristics of their own species. The second goal is to uncover mechanisms by which deficits in fundamental biases might increase risk for later social impairments typical of ASD. This prospective experimental approach dovetails with current observational approaches such as parent- and physician- reported checklists, but by examining developmental mechanisms could direct intervention. To meet these goals, we focus on later-born siblings of children diagnosed with ASD (who have a 19% risk of recurrence, and increased probability of cognitive or language difficulties), and a comparison group of typically developing siblings. We will test whether infants show a listening preference for biological stimuli at 4- 6 months (human speech over non-speech sounds, human faces over non-faces); whether they show a preference for conspecific stimuli at 7-9 months (human speech over non-human primate vocalizations, human faces over non-human primate faces); and if they understand functional aspects of speech and faces at 10-12 months (matching speech to human faces, and understanding that speech allows people to communicate). Across these ages, we will collect observational measures of parental input, global cognitive development, linguistic development, and ASD behaviors using the Autism Observation Scale- Infants, and follow children until potential diagnosis at 24 and 36 months using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. We will examine group differences between infant groups. We will examine individual infants' developmental trajectories, linking early biases to later abilities, an examine the mediating role of parental input. This project's long-term goal is to help early identification of atypical development at an individual level in high-risk infants before overt ASD behaviors emerge by focusing on fundamental perceptual biases, and ultimately guide early intervention across a broad ASD phenotype. This research thus aims to identify high-risk infants before the full ASD behavioral profile can be characterized through standard observational protocols. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Our studies aim to characterize mechanisms of early atypical development in individual infants, which could help guide early intervention across a broad Autism Spectrum Disorders phenotype. First, the findings from this research program will help identify infants who have an increased risk for later social impairments typical of Autism Spectrum Disorders by examining how they perceive voices and faces, the socially-relevant characteristics of their own species. Second, these findings may help guide development of a valid and reliable screening tool for early identification of atypical development in individual at risk infants before children start to show the full behavioral profile of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

描述（由申请人提供）：通常发育中的婴儿具有基本的知觉偏差，这些偏差会将他们的注意力引导到与社会相关的刺激上，例如声音和面孔。被诊断患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童在对自己物种（同种）的声音和面孔的听觉和视觉处理方面表现出明显的缺陷。我们提出了一种前瞻性、实验性、纵向的方法，检查缺乏基本知觉偏差来关注同种人的听觉和视觉特征的婴儿是否更有可能出现自闭症谱系障碍症状特征的社交沟通技能缺陷。通过关注基础和物种典型的感知过程而不是复杂的技能，我们希望与现有的高风险兄弟姐妹研究相比，发现早期可靠的标记和机制理解。 该提案有两个短期目标。第一个目标是通过检查婴儿如何感知声音和面孔以及本物种的社会相关特征，帮助识别那些在日后出现自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）典型社交障碍的风险较高的婴儿。第二个目标是揭示基本偏见缺陷可能增加自闭症谱系障碍典型社交障碍风险的机制。这种前瞻性实验方法与当前的观察方法（例如家长和医生报告的清单）相吻合，但通过检查发育机制可以直接干预。为了实现这些目标，我们重点关注被诊断为自闭症谱系障碍儿童的较晚出生的兄弟姐妹（其复发风险为 19%，并且认知或语言困难的可能性增加），以及典型发育兄弟姐妹的对照组。我们将测试婴儿在4-6个月时是否表现出对生物刺激的听力偏好（人类言语相对于非言语声音，人脸相对于非面孔）；他们在 7-9 个月大时是否表现出对同种刺激的偏好（人类言语优于非人类灵长类动物发声，人类面孔优于非人类灵长类动物面孔）；他们是否在 10-12 个月时理解了语音和面部的功能（将语音与人脸进行匹配，并理解语音可以让人们进行交流）。在这些年龄段，我们将使用婴儿自闭症观察量表收集父母投入、整体认知发展、语言发展和自闭症谱系障碍行为的观察测量，并使用自闭症诊断观察时间表跟踪儿童，直到 24 和 36 个月时可能做出诊断。我们将检查婴儿组之间的组间差异。我们将检查个别婴儿的发育轨迹，将早期偏见与后来的能力联系起来，并检查父母投入的中介作用。该项目的长期目标是帮助在明显的自闭症谱系障碍之前早期识别高危婴儿的个体水平非典型发育 行为通过关注基本的知觉偏差而出现，并最终指导针对广泛的 ASD 表型的早期干预。因此，这项研究的目的是在通过标准观察方案描述完整的 ASD 行为特征之前识别高风险婴儿。 公共健康相关性：我们的研究旨在描述个体婴儿早期非典型发育的机制，这有助于指导广泛的自闭症谱系障碍表型的早期干预。首先，该研究项目的结果将通过检查婴儿如何感知声音和面孔以及他们自己物种的社会相关特征，帮助识别那些在以后出现自闭症谱系障碍典型社交障碍的风险增加的婴儿。其次，这些发现可能有助于指导开发有效且可靠的筛查工具，以早期识别个体的非典型发育。 在儿童开始表现出自闭症谱系障碍的完整行为特征之前，对婴儿进行风险评估。