Divergent biases for conspecifics as early markers for Autism Spectum Disorders

描述(由申请人提供)：通常，发育中的婴儿有基本的知觉偏差，将他们的注意力引导到与社会相关的刺激上，如声音和面部。被诊断为自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的儿童在对自己种族的声音和面部的听觉和视觉处理方面表现出明显的缺陷(共同特征)。我们提出了一种前瞻性、实验性、纵向的方法，研究缺乏基础知觉偏差的婴儿是否更有可能在社交沟通技能方面出现缺陷，这是ASD症状的特征。通过专注于基础和物种典型的感知过程，而不是复杂的技能，我们希望发现与现有的高危兄弟姐妹研究相比，更早的可靠标记和机械性理解。这项提议有两个短期目标。第一个目标是通过检查他们如何感知声音和面孔，即他们自己物种的社会相关特征，来帮助识别那些后来患自闭症典型社会障碍的风险增加的非常年轻的婴儿。第二个目标是揭示根本性偏见的缺陷可能会增加自闭症典型的未来社会损害风险的机制。这种前瞻性的实验方法与当前的观察方法相吻合，例如父母和医生报告的检查表，但通过检查发育机制可以指导干预。为了实现这些目标，我们将重点放在被诊断为自闭症儿童的较晚出生的兄弟姐妹(他们有19%的复发风险，认知或语言障碍的可能性增加)，以及一组典型发育的兄弟姐妹。我们将测试婴儿在4-6个月时是否表现出对生物刺激的倾听偏好(人类语音相对于非语音声音，人类面部相对于非面部)；他们是否在7-9个月时表现出对同种刺激的偏好(人类语音相对于非人类灵长类发声，人类面部相对于非人类灵长类动物的发声)；以及他们是否在10-12个月时理解语音和面部的功能方面(将语音与人脸相匹配，并理解语言允许人们交流)。在这些年龄段，我们将使用自闭症观察量表-婴儿收集父母输入、全球认知发展、语言发展和ASD行为的观察性测量，并使用自闭症诊断观察时间表跟踪儿童，直到24个月和36个月时潜在诊断。我们将检查婴儿群体之间的群体差异。我们将研究单个婴儿的发展轨迹，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显性ASD之前早期识别高危婴儿个体水平的非典型发育 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确定完整的ASD行为特征之前识别高危婴儿。

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.