New Delhi: Six-week-old infants who are more likely to develop autism show different patterns in their brain connections, researchers say, suggesting that autism-related behaviors may be linked to observed behaviors. May emerge much earlier. Are.
The researchers focused on the brain's saliency network, a group of regions that are important for identifying information in the environment that is worthy of attention and being able to respond appropriately to it.
In infants who are more likely to develop autism — a disorder marked by repetitive behavior and impaired social interaction — researchers have identified key networks and brain areas that process sensory information and movement, or sensorimotor areas. Strong relationships have been found between.
The team, co-led by researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), US, further found that infants who had stronger connections with sensorimotor areas in the brain had weaker connections with prefrontal areas, which are important for social interaction. Are.Are.
The researchers said this suggests that paying more attention to basic sensory information comes at the expense of attention to socially relevant cues, potentially leading to poorer social behavior in people with autism. An emerging theory in research is that differences in sensory processes may precede the more classic social and communication symptoms of autism, this data supports that theory by showing that there are great differences in how attention is allocated. "Early brain differences can predict both sensory and social behavior in children," said Shulamite Green, an assistant professor. UCLA.
"In other words, paying more attention to external sensory stimuli in the environment may make it difficult to pay attention to social cues, and this difference in attention may actually affect how the brain develops in the first year of life and beyond. " Green, corresponding author, said in the study published in the journal Communications Biology.The researchers also found that brain patterns observed in six-week-old infants could predict their behavior at one year old.
Infants with strong connections to sensory areas were found to have "hyper-responsivity" when they were one year old, a trait considered characteristic of autism, in which the person reacts to specific environmental sounds or sensations. Show excessive reaction.
In contrast, researchers found that infants with stronger connections to prefrontal areas in the brain showed a better ability to share attention with others at one year of age, a crucial stage before the development of social communication skills. which is often impaired in autism. The authors said the observed patterns may help explain deficits in social attention, an abnormal sensory process commonly seen in people with autism.For the study, researchers analyzed 53 infants, 24 of whom were more likely to develop autism because at least one older sibling had been diagnosed — a factor known to increase the risk of autism. goes. goes. The remaining 29 hectares had no family history of autism or any other developmental disorder.
The researchers focused on the brain's saliency network, a group of regions that are important for identifying information in the environment that is worthy of attention and being able to respond appropriately to it.
In infants who are more likely to develop autism — a disorder marked by repetitive behavior and impaired social interaction — researchers have identified key networks and brain areas that process sensory information and movement, or sensorimotor areas. Strong relationships have been found between.
The team, co-led by researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), US, further found that infants who had stronger connections with sensorimotor areas in the brain had weaker connections with prefrontal areas, which are important for social interaction. Are.Are.
The researchers said this suggests that paying more attention to basic sensory information comes at the expense of attention to socially relevant cues, potentially leading to poorer social behavior in people with autism. An emerging theory in research is that differences in sensory processes may precede the more classic social and communication symptoms of autism, this data supports that theory by showing that there are great differences in how attention is allocated. "Early brain differences can predict both sensory and social behavior in children," said Shulamite Green, an assistant professor. UCLA.
"In other words, paying more attention to external sensory stimuli in the environment may make it difficult to pay attention to social cues, and this difference in attention may actually affect how the brain develops in the first year of life and beyond. " Green, corresponding author, said in the study published in the journal Communications Biology.The researchers also found that brain patterns observed in six-week-old infants could predict their behavior at one year old.
Infants with strong connections to sensory areas were found to have "hyper-responsivity" when they were one year old, a trait considered characteristic of autism, in which the person reacts to specific environmental sounds or sensations. Show excessive reaction.
In contrast, researchers found that infants with stronger connections to prefrontal areas in the brain showed a better ability to share attention with others at one year of age, a crucial stage before the development of social communication skills. which is often impaired in autism. The authors said the observed patterns may help explain deficits in social attention, an abnormal sensory process commonly seen in people with autism.For the study, researchers analyzed 53 infants, 24 of whom were more likely to develop autism because at least one older sibling had been diagnosed — a factor known to increase the risk of autism. goes. goes. The remaining 29 hectares had no family history of autism or any other developmental disorder.
