Visual attention and fine motor coordination in infants at risk for autism

项目摘要 简介：自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）发病率的上升使研究人员迫切需要开发早期识别的敏感工具。最近的进展使专家能够通过一系列社会沟通和运动协调缺陷在第二年识别ASD。这个项目试图将这项工作扩展到婴儿期。目的：这项研究的主要目标是开发新的工具，用于在生命的前六个月内早期识别自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的运动，社交和认知缺陷。在这项提案中，达到，对象探索和联想学习任务被用作强大的背景，以确定与ASD和更广泛的自闭症表型（BAP）在生命的前六个月内的障碍。我们将纵向比较两组：1）自闭症儿童的婴儿兄弟姐妹（Au Sibs），他们是患有ASD和BAP损伤的高遗传风险队列，以及2）在3个月和6个月时没有ASD家族史的儿童（TD Sibs）的典型发育婴儿兄弟姐妹，沿着16个月的随访筛查。研究方法：在触及和物体探索期间，将在单拨浪鼓或多拨浪鼓条件下观察婴儿，以探测其触及、抓握和视觉注意/探索模式。此外，在联想学习过程中，婴儿将学习他们的手臂运动和音乐玩具的激活之间的关系。我们将为学习、玩具激活模式和视觉注意模式编码。将使用便携式电磁运动跟踪系统量化精细运动测量，如伸展和有节奏的手臂运动。初步调查结果：我们的初步数据表明，Au同胞测试在3个月和6个月达到和把握协调赤字，以及过度的视觉探索达到和对象探索任务。此外，Au同胞在联想学习任务中难以转移视觉注意力。通过这项建议，我们建立在我们的初步数据，并扩大我们的数据库的精细运动协调和视觉注意力障碍的Au同胞人口。意义：这个项目将大大增加我们对导致ASD核心缺陷的早期发育过程的理解。此外，如果目标实现，它将为ASD的早期诊断确定可靠的行为标记。具体来说，这项研究的结果将暗示，ASD和BAP的早期检测是可能的3至6个月的年龄通过精细运动和视觉注意力标记。它还强调，自闭症儿童的婴儿兄弟姐妹有可能出现一般感觉运动延迟，需要进行感觉运动干预。

PROJECT SUMMARY Introduction: The rising incidence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) charges researchers with a sense of urgency to develop sensitive tools for early identification. Recent advances allow experts to identify ASD in the second year through an array of social communication and motor coordination deficits. This project attempts to extend this work into infancy. Aims: The broad objectives of this research are to develop novel tools for early identification of motor, social, and cognitive deficits of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) within the first six months of life. In this proposal, reaching, object exploration, and associative learning tasks are used as powerful contexts to identify impairments related to ASD and the broader autism phenotype (BAP) within the first six months of life. We will longitudinally compare two groups: 1) infant siblings of children with autism (AU Sibs), who are a cohort at high genetic risk to develop ASD and BAP impairments, and 2) typically developing, infant siblings of children with no family history of ASD (TD Sibs) at 3 and 6 months along with follow-up screening at 16 months. Methods: During reaching and object exploration, infants will be observed during single-rattle or multi-rattle conditions to probe their reaching, grasping, and visual attention/exploration patterns. In addition, during associative learning, infants will learn the relationship between their arm movements and the activation of a musical toy. We will code for learning, pattern of toy activation, and visual attention patterns. Fine-motor measures such as reaching and rhythmic arm movements will be quantified using a portable electromagnetic motion tracking system. Preliminary Findings: Our preliminary data suggest that AU Sibs tested at 3 and 6 months have reaching and grasping coordination deficits as well as excessive visual exploration during reaching and object exploration tasks. Moreover, AU Sibs show difficulty shifting visual attention during an associative learning task. Through this proposal, we build on our preliminary data and expand our database on fine-motor coordination and visual attention impairments of the AU Sibs population. Significance: This project will vastly add to our understanding of the early developmental processes that lead to the core deficits of ASD. In addition, if the aims are achieved it will identify reliable behavioral markers for early diagnosis of ASD. Specifically, the results of this study would implicate that early detection of ASD and the BAP is possible between 3 and 6 months of age through fine-motor and visual attention markers. It would also emphasize that infant siblings of children with autism are at risk for general sensori-motor delays and need sensori-motor interventions.