Speech disturbs face scanning in 6-month-old infants who develop autism spectrum disorder.

ABSTRACT:

Background

From birth, infants show a preference for the faces, gaze, and voices of others. In individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) these biases seem to be disturbed. The source of these disturbances is not well-understood, but recent efforts have shown that the spontaneous deployment of attention to social targets might be atypical as early as 6 months of age. The nature of this atypical behavior and the conditions under which it arises are currently unknown.

Methods

We used eye-tracking to examine the gaze patterns of 6-month-old infants (n = 99) at high risk (n = 57) and low risk (n = 42) for developing ASD as they viewed faces that were: 1) still; 2) moving and expressing positive affect; or 3) speaking. Clinical outcomes were determined through a comprehens

SUBMITTER: Shic F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3864607 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature