| 1. |
- Falck-Ytter, Terje, et al.
(författare)
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Reduced Orienting to Audiovisual Synchrony in Infancy Predicts Autism Diagnosis at 3 Years of Age
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. - : Wiley. - 0021-9630 .- 1469-7610. ; 59:8, s. 872-880
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Effective multisensory processing develops in infancy and is thought to be important for the perception of unified and multimodal objects and events. Previous research suggests impaired multisensory processing in autism, but its role in the early development of the disorder is yet uncertain. Here, using a prospective longitudinal design, we tested whether reduced visual attention to audiovisual synchrony is an infant marker of later-emerging autism diagnosis.Methods: We studied 10-month-old siblings of children with autism using an eye tracking task previously used in studies of preschoolers. The task assessed the effect of manipulations of audiovisual synchrony on viewing patterns while the infants were observing point light displays of biological motion. We analyzed the gaze data recorded in infancy according to diagnostic status at 3 years of age (DSM-5).Results: Ten-month-old infants who later received an autism diagnosis did not orient to audiovisual synchrony expressed within biological motion. In contrast, both infants at low-risk and high-risk siblings without autism at follow-up had a strong preference for this type of information. No group differences were observed in terms of orienting to upright biological motion.Conclusions: This study suggests that reduced orienting to audiovisual synchrony within biological motion is an early sign of autism. The findings support the view that poor multisensory processing could be an important antecedent marker of this neurodevelopmental condition.
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| 2. |
- Hendry, Alexandra, et al.
(författare)
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Atypical Development of Attentional Control Associates with Later Adaptive Functioning, Autism and ADHD Traits
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Nature. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 50:11, s. 4085-4105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Autism is frequently associated with difficulties with top-down attentional control, which impact on individuals’ mental health and quality of life. The developmental processes involved in these attentional difficulties are not well understood. Using a data-driven approach, 2 samples (N = 294 and 412) of infants at elevated and typical likelihood of autism were grouped according to profiles of parent report of attention at 10, 15 and 25 months. In contrast to the normative profile of increases in attentional control scores between infancy and toddlerhood, a minority (7–9%) showed plateauing attentional control scores between 10 and 25 months. Consistent with pre-registered hypotheses, plateaued growth of attentional control was associated with elevated autism and ADHD traits, and lower adaptive functioning at age 3 years.
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| 3. |
- Konke, Linn Andersson, et al.
(författare)
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How Does Temperament in Toddlers at Elevated Likelihood for Autism Relate to Symptoms of Autism and ADHD at Three Years of Age?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 52, s. 995-1006
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current study investigated longitudinal associations between parent-rated temperament, observed exuberance and accelerometer activity level at 18-months and symptoms of ASD and ADHD at 36-months in a sample of 54 children at elevated likelihood for ASD. For the specific parent-rated temperament scales, most observed significant associations appeared to be specific for either ASD or ADHD symptoms. Indeed, by controlling for overlapping symptoms a different pattern of associations emerged. These results illustrate how temperamental measures may signal risk for later ASD versus ADHD symptomatology in infants at elevated likelihood for ASD. In addition, they indicate the potential of adopting a broader view on neurodevelopmental disorders by investigating not only ASD traits, but also co-occurring disorders such as ADHD in samples of elevated likelihood for ASD.
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| 4. |
- Achermann, Sheila, et al.
(författare)
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Motor atypicalities in infancy are associated with general developmental level at 2 years, but not autistic symptoms
- 2020
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Ingår i: Autism. - : SAGE Publications Ltd. - 1362-3613 .- 1461-7005. ; 24:7, s. 1650-1663
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atypical motor development has frequently been reported in infants at elevated likelihood for autism spectrum disorder. However, no previous study has used detailed motion capture technology to compare infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder and infant siblings with no familial history of autism spectrum disorder. We investigated reaching movements during an interceptive action task in 10-month-old infants using kinematic data with high spatiotemporal resolution. The results indicated that several measures were different in infants at elevated likelihood. However, longitudinal analyses revealed that while specific infant motor measures (e.g. number of movement units) were related to broad measures of general developmental level in toddlerhood, the associations with later autism spectrum disorder symptomatology were not significant. These findings confirm that some aspects of motor functioning are atypical in infants at elevated likelihood for autism spectrum disorder, but provide no support for the view that these issues are specifically linked to autism spectrum disorder symptoms, but may rather reflect neurodevelopment more generally.Lay abstractAtypicalities in motor functioning are often observed in later born infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder. The goal of our study was to investigate motor functioning in infants with and without familial history of autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, we investigated how infants catch a ball that is rolling toward them following a non-straight path, a task that requires both efficient planning and execution. Their performance was measured using detailed three-dimensional motion capture technology. We found that several early motor functioning measures were different in infants with an older autistic sibling compared to controls. However, these early motor measures were not related to autistic symptoms at the age of 2 years. Instead, we found that some of the early motor measures were related to their subsequent non-social, general development. The findings of our study help us understand motor functioning early in life and how motor functioning is related to other aspects of development.
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| 5. |
- Achermann, Sheila
(författare)
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Prediction in Typical and Atypical Development
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Forming predictions about what is going to happen next is a crucial ability that develops early in life. Theory and some empirical evidence suggest that predictive abilities may be impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The overarching aim of this thesis is to investigate early measures of prediction in relation to concurrent and later outcomes in typical and atypical development, with a particular focus on ASD and related behavioral problems.In Study I, we used motion capture technology to examine prospective motor control and its relationship to executive functions in typically developing 18-month-olds. Our findings showed that motor control is associated with executive functioning in infancy.Study II investigated motor control in infants at low and elevated likelihood for ASD and examined how these measures relate to later development. We found group differences as well as similarities in motor control in 10-months-olds with and without a familial history of ASD. Early motor measures were related to general developmental level, but not ASD symptomatology in toddlerhood.Using eye tracking, Study III examined how infants with later ASD and neurotypical infants form predictions about visual object motion. Our findings indicated that infants with later ASD were able to form predictions about object motion and adapt to simple changes in motion patterns, and that their performance did not differ from the performance of neurotypical infants.In Study IV, we surveyed parents about their experiences during participation in an infant sibling study of ASD as a first step to understanding the benefits and risks associated with this type of research. Parents were generally positive about their experiences both from their own perspective as well as, the child’s perspective.This thesis illustrates the potential of using advanced technology, such as motion tracking and eye tracking, to study and compare prediction in typical and atypical development. It points to the important role of prediction and motor control for child development, but fails to find a specific link to ASD.
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| 6. |
- Achermann, Sheila, et al.
(författare)
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Updating Expectations about Unexpected Object Motion in Infants Later Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Nature. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 51:11, s. 4186-4198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In typical development, infants form predictions about future events based on incoming sensory information, which is essential for perception and goal-directed action. It has been suggested that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make predictions differently compared to neurotypical individuals. We investigated how infants who later received an ASD diagnosis and neurotypical infants react to temporarily occluded moving objects that violate initial expectations about object motion. Our results indicate that infants regardless of clinical outcome react similarly to unexpected object motion patterns, both in terms of gaze shift latencies and pupillary responses. These findings indicate that the ability to update representations about such regularities in light of new information may not differ between typically developing infants and those with later ASD.
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| 7. |
- Borgmästars, Emmy, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating tissue polypeptide-specific antigen in pre-diagnostic pancreatic cancer samples
- 2021
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Ingår i: Cancers. - : MDPI. - 2072-6694. ; 13:21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is challenging, and late diagnosis partly explains the low 5-year survival. Novel and sensitive biomarkers are needed to enable early PDAC detection and improve patient outcomes. Tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) has been studied as a biomarker in PDAC diagnostics, and it has previously been shown to reflect clinical status better than the ‘golden standard’ biomarker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) that is most widely used in the clinical setting. In this cross-sectional case-control study using pre-diagnostic plasma samples, we aim to evaluate the potential of TPS as a biomarker for early PDAC detection. Furthermore, in a subset of individuals with multiple samples available at different time points before diagnosis, a longitudinal analysis was used. We assessed plasma TPS levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 267 pre-diagnostic PDAC plasma samples taken up to 18.8 years before clinical PDAC diagnosis and in 320 matched healthy controls. TPS levels were also assessed in 25 samples at PDAC diagnosis. Circulating TPS levels were low both in pre-diagnostic samples of future PDAC patients and in healthy controls, whereas TPS levels at PDAC diagnosis were significantly increased (odds ratio 1.03; 95% confidence interval: 1.01–1.05) in a logistic regression model adjusted for age. In conclusion, TPS levels increase late in PDAC progression and hold no potential as a biomarker for early detection.
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| 8. |
- Darki, Fahimeh, et al.
(författare)
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T1-Weighted/T2-Weighted Ratio Mapping at 5 Months Captures Individual Differences in Behavioral Development and Differentiates Infants at Familial Risk for Autism from Controls
- 2021
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press. - 1047-3211 .- 1460-2199. ; 31:9, s. 4068-4077
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identifying structural measures that capture early brain development and are sensitive to individual differences in behavior is a priority in developmental neuroscience, with potential implications for our understanding of both typical and atypical populations. T1-weighted/T2-weighted (T1w/T2w) ratio mapping, which previously has been linked to myelination, represents an interesting candidate measure in this respect, as an accessible measure from standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. Yet, its value as an early infancy measure remains largely unexplored. Here, we compared T1w/T2w ratio in 5-month-old infants at familial risk (n = 27) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to those without elevated autism risk (n =16). We found lower T1w/T2w ratio in infants at high risk for ASD within widely distributed regions, spanning both white and gray matter. In regions differing between groups, higher T1w/T2w ratio was robustly associated with higher age at scan (range: similar to 4-6.5 months), implying sensitivity to maturation at short developmental timescales. Further, higher T1w/T2w ratio within these regions was associated with higher scores on measures of concurrent developmental level. These findings suggest that T1w/T2w ratio is a developmentally sensitive measure that should be explored further in future studies of both typical and atypical infant populations.
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| 9. |
- de Vries, Lyssa, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating the development of the autonomic nervous system in infancy through pupillometry
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of neural transmission. - : Springer. - 0300-9564 .- 1435-1463. ; 130, s. 723-734
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We aim to investigate early developmental trajectories of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as indexed by the pupillary light reflex (PLR) in infants with (i.e. preterm birth, feeding difficulties, or siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder) and without (controls) increased likelihood for atypical ANS development. We used eye-tracking to capture the PLR in 216 infants in a longitudinal follow-up study spanning 5 to 24 months of age, and linear mixed models to investigate effects of age and group on three PLR parameters: baseline pupil diameter, latency to constriction and relative constriction amplitude. An increase with age was found in baseline pupil diameter (F(3,273.21) = 13.15, p < 0.001, eta(2)(p) = 0.13), latency to constriction (F(3,326.41) =3.84, p = 0.010,eta(2)(p) = 0.03) and relative constriction amplitude(F(3,282.53) =3.70, p = 0.012,eta(2)(p)= 0.04). Group differences were found for baseline pupil diameter (F(3,235.91) = 9.40, p < 0.001,eta(2)(p) = 0.11), with larger diameter in preterms and siblings than in controls, and for latency to constriction (F(3,237.10) = 3.48, p = 0.017, eta(2)(p) = 0.04), with preterms having a longer latency than controls. The results align with previous evidence, with development over time that could be explained by ANS maturation. To better understand the cause of the group differences, further research in a larger sample is necessary, combining pupillometry with other measures to further validate its value.
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| 10. |
- Fish, Laurel A., et al.
(författare)
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Development of the pupillary light reflex from 9 to 24 months : association with common autism spectrum disorder (ASD) genetic liability and 3-year ASD diagnosis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0021-9630 .- 1469-7610. ; 62:11, s. 1308-1319
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable, the mechanisms through which genes contribute to symptom emergence remain unclear. Investigating candidate intermediate phenotypes such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) prospectively from early in development could bridge genotype and behavioural phenotype.Methods: Using eye tracking, we longitudinally measured the PLR at 9, 14 and 24 months in a sample of infants (N = 264) enriched for a family history of ASD; 27 infants received an ASD diagnosis at 3 years. We examined the 9- to 24-month developmental trajectories of PLR constriction latency (onset; ms) and amplitude (%) and explored their relation to categorical 3-year ASD outcome, polygenic liability for ASD and dimensional 3-year social affect (SA) and repetitive/restrictive behaviour (RRB) traits. Polygenic scores for ASD (PGSASD) were calculated for 190 infants.Results: While infants showed a decrease in latency between 9 and 14 months, higher PGSASD was associated with a smaller decrease in latency in the first year (? = ?.16, 95% CI = ?0.31, ?0.002); infants with later ASD showed a significantly steeper decrease in latency (a putative ?catch-up?) between 14 and 24 months relative to those with other outcomes (typical: ? = .54, 95% CI = 0.08, 0.99; other: ? = .53, 95% CI = 0.02, 1.04). Latency development did not associate with later dimensional variation in ASD-related traits. In contrast, change in amplitude was not related to categorical ASD or genetics, but decreasing 9- to 14-month amplitude was associated with higher SA (? = .08, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.14) and RRB (? = .05, 95% CI = 0.004, 0.11) traits.Conclusions: These findings corroborate PLR development as possible intermediate phenotypes being linked to both genetic liability and phenotypic outcomes. Future work should incorporate alternative measures (e.g. functionally informed structural and genetic measures) to test whether distinct neural mechanisms underpin PLR alterations.
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