近日,英国一项最新研究表明,对于几个月大的婴儿来说,只要测量他们在某些情形下的脑电波变化情况,就能预知他们以后患孤独症的风险。这一发现有助于对孤独症高风险婴儿及早进行干预治疗。
英国伦敦大学伯克贝克学院等机构研究人员在新一期美国《当代生物学》杂志上报告说,他们对100多名6个月到10个月大的婴儿进行测试,在这些婴儿眼前交替展示两种图片。在婴儿看来,一种图片上的人是直接看着自己的,而另一种图片上的人是看着别处的。同时进行的脑电波测量显示,在交替观看这两种图片时,婴儿们的脑电波会出现变化,但不同婴儿的变化幅度不尽相同。
对这些婴儿的跟踪研究一直持续到他们3岁的时候,其中部分婴儿后来出现了孤独症症状。分析显示,在测试时脑电波变化幅度较大的婴儿,后来患孤独症的风险较低;而在测试时脑电波变化幅度很小的婴儿,后来患孤独症的风险较高。
进行研究的马克·约翰逊教授说,患孤独症的孩子通常要到一两岁时才在行为上显示出某些迹象。有观点认为,如果能更早识别出孤独症高风险的孩子,通过专门的训练计划来干预治疗,可以有效改善孤独症症状。他们的研究提供了一种早发现、早治疗的手段。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.12.056
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Infant Neural Sensitivity to Dynamic Eye Gaze Is Associated with Later Emerging Autism
Mayada Elsabbagh, Evelyne Mercure, Kristelle Hudry, Susie Chandler, Greg Pasco, Tony Charman, Andrew Pickles, Simon Baron-Cohen, Patrick Bolton, Mark H. Johnson
Autism spectrum disorders (henceforth autism) are diagnosed in around 1% of the population . Familial liability confers risk for a broad spectrum of difficulties including the broader autism phenotype (BAP). There are currently no reliable predictors of autism in infancy, but characteristic behaviors emerge during the second year, enabling diagnosis after this age . Because indicators of brain functioning may be sensitive predictors, and atypical eye contact is characteristic of the syndrome and the BAP , we examined whether neural sensitivity to eye gaze during infancy is associated with later autism outcomes . We undertook a prospective longitudinal study of infants with and without familial risk for autism. At 6–10 months, we recorded infants' event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to viewing faces with eye gaze directed toward versus away from the infant . Longitudinal analyses showed that characteristics of ERP components evoked in response to dynamic eye gaze shifts during infancy were associated with autism diagnosed at 36 months. ERP responses to eye gaze may help characterize developmental processes that lead to later emerging autism. Findings also elucidate the mechanisms driving the development of the social brain in infancy.