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Dopaminergic variants in siblings at high risk for autism: Associations with initiating joint attention.

ABSTRACT: Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; high-risk siblings) exhibit lower levels of initiating joint attention (IJA; sharing an object or experience with a social partner through gaze and/or gesture) than low-risk siblings of children without ASD. However, high-risk siblings also exhibit substantial variability in this domain. The neurotransmitter dopamine is linked to brain areas associated with reward, motivation, and attention, and common dopaminergic variants have been associated with attention difficulties. We examined whether these common dopaminergic variants, DRD4 and DRD2, explain variability in IJA in high-risk (n?=?55) and low-risk (n?=?38) siblings. IJA was assessed in the first year during a semi-structured interaction with an examiner. DRD4 and DRD2 genotypes were coded according to associated dopaminergic functioning to create a gene score, with higher scores indicating more genotypes associated with less efficient dopaminergic functioning. Higher dopamine gene scores (indicative of less efficient dopaminergic functioning) were associated with lower levels of IJA in the first year for high-risk siblings, while the opposite pattern emerged in low-risk siblings. Findings suggest differential susceptibility-IJA was differentially associated with dopaminergic functioning depending on familial ASD risk. Understanding genes linked to ASD-relevant behaviors in high-risk siblings will aid in early identification of children at greatest risk for difficulties in these behavioral domains, facilitating targeted prevention and intervention. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1142-1150. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

SUBMITTER: Gangi DN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5025346 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dopaminergic variants in siblings at high risk for autism: Associations with initiating joint attention.

Gangi Devon N DN Messinger Daniel S DS Martin Eden R ER Cuccaro Michael L ML

Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research 20160315 11

Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; high-risk siblings) exhibit lower levels of initiating joint attention (IJA; sharing an object or experience with a social partner through gaze and/or gesture) than low-risk siblings of children without ASD. However, high-risk siblings also exhibit substantial variability in this domain. The neurotransmitter dopamine is linked to brain areas associated with reward, motivation, and attention, and common dopaminergic variants have be ...[more]

PMID: 26990357

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Project description:Social motivation-the psychobiological predisposition for social orienting, seeking social contact, and maintaining social interaction-manifests in early infancy and is hypothesized to be foundational for social communication development in typical and atypical populations. However, the lack of infant social-motivation measures has hindered delineation of associations between infant social motivation, other early-arising social abilities such as joint attention, and language outcomes. To investigate how infant social motivation contributes to joint attention and language, this study utilizes a mixed longitudinal sample of 741 infants at high (HL = 515) and low (LL = 226) likelihood for ASD. Using moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA), we incorporated items from parent-report measures to establish a novel latent factor model of infant social motivation that exhibits measurement invariance by age, sex, and familial ASD likelihood. We then examined developmental associations between 6- and 12-month social motivation, joint attention at 12-15 months, and language at 24 months of age. On average, greater social-motivation growth from 6-12 months was associated with greater initiating joint attention (IJA) and trend-level increases in sophistication of responding to joint attention (RJA). IJA and RJA were both positively associated with 24-month language abilities. There were no additional associations between social motivation and future language in our path model. These findings substantiate a novel, theoretically driven approach to modeling social motivation and suggest a developmental cascade through which social motivation impacts other foundational skills. These findings have implications for the timing and nature of intervention targets to support social communication development in infancy. HIGHLIGHTS: We describe a novel, theoretically based model of infant social motivation wherein multiple parent-reported indicators contribute to a unitary latent social-motivation factor. Analyses revealed social-motivation factor scores exhibited measurement invariance for a longitudinal sample of infants at high and low familial ASD likelihood. Social-motivation growth from ages 6-12 months is associated with better 12-15-month joint attention abilities, which in turn are associated with greater 24-month language skills. Findings inform timing and targets of potential interventions to support healthy social communication in the first year of life.

Dataset Information

Dopaminergic variants in siblings at high risk for autism: Associations with initiating joint attention.

Publications

Dopaminergic variants in siblings at high risk for autism: Associations with initiating joint attention.

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