Preference for geometric patterns early in life as a risk factor for autism.
BACKGROUND
Early identification efforts are essential for the early treatment of the symptoms of autism but can only occur if robust risk factors are found. Children with autism often engage in repetitive behaviors and anecdotally prefer to visually examine geometric repetition, such as the moving blade of a fan or the spinning of a car wheel. The extent to which a preference for looking at geometric repetition is an early risk factor for autism has yet to be examined.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if toddlers with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 14 to 42 months prefer to visually examine dynamic geometric images more than social images and to determine if visual fixation patterns can correctly classify a toddler as having an ASD.


METHODS
Toddlers were presented with a 1-minute movie depicting moving geometric patterns on 1 side of a video monitor and children in high action, such as dancing or doing yoga, on the other. Using this preferential looking paradigm, total fixation duration and the number of saccades within each movie type were examined using eye tracking technology.


METHODS
University of California, San Diego Autism Center of Excellence.


METHODS
One hundred ten toddlers participated in final analyses (37 with an ASD, 22 with developmental delay, and 51 typical developing toddlers).


METHODS
Total fixation time within the geometric patterns or social images and the number of saccades were compared between diagnostic groups.


RESULTS
Overall, toddlers with an ASD as young as 14 months spent significantly more time fixating on dynamic geometric images than other diagnostic groups. If a toddler spent more than 69% of his or her time fixating on geometric patterns, then the positive predictive value for accurately classifying that toddler as having an ASD was 100%.


CONCLUSIONS
A preference for geometric patterns early in life may be a novel and easily detectable early signature of infants and toddlers at risk for autism.
Pierce
Karen
K
Department of Neurosciences, Autism Center of Excellence, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, 92037, USA. kpierce@ucsd.edu
Conant
David
D
Hazin
Roxana
R
Stoner
Richard
R
Desmond
Jamie
J
D000367:Age Factors; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012438:Saccades
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009 May;50(5):637-42
19298466
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 1996 Nov;2(6):541-50
9375158
Pediatrics. 2010 Jan;125(1):e17-23
19948568
Pediatrics. 1975 Oct;56(4):544-9
1165958
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004 Sep;45(6):1115-22
15257668
Autism. 2008 Sep;12(5):487-511
18805944
J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 19;28(47):12176-82
19020011
Neuropsychologia. 2009 Mar;47(4):1004-12
19027761
Cereb Cortex. 2010 Nov;20(11):2702-11
20176690
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002 Sep;59(9):809-16
12215080
J Autism Dev Disord. 2008 Oct;38(9):1666-75
18306030
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2003 Feb 28;358(1430):345-60
12639332
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Mar 2;107(9):4389-94
20160081
J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 May;40(5):534-47
19904597
J Autism Dev Disord. 1994 Jun;24(3):247-57
8050980
J Consult Clin Psychol. 1987 Feb;55(1):3-9
3571656
Front Biosci. 2001 Feb 01;6:D105-19
11171544
Cognition. 2009 Feb;110(2):160-70
19114280
Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Jan 1;65(1):17-21
18649873
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009 Oct;50(10):1235-45
19594835
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008 Aug;65(8):946-54
18678799
J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2007 Aug;29(6):610-6
17691033
J Neurosci. 2004 Mar 3;24(9):2270-6
14999077
Brain. 2001 Oct;124(Pt 10):2059-73
11571222
Psychiatry Res. 2009 Sep 30;173(3):196-205
19665877
Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Oct 1;64(7):552-60
18621359
Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1998 Apr;6(4):295-307
9593953
Brain. 2004 Dec;127(Pt 12):2703-16
15319275
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1997 Jul;38(5):527-34
9255696
Nature. 2009 May 14;459(7244):257-61
19329996
Dev Psychopathol. 2002 Spring;14(2):239-51
12030690
Dev Sci. 2009 Sep;12(5):798-814
19702771
J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Dec;40(12):1521-30
20405194
J Neurosci. 1999 Jul 1;19(13):5632-43
10377369
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2006 Dec;1(3):194-202
18985106
Nat Neurosci. 2000 Mar;3(3):292-7
10700263
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009 Nov;18(11):663-74
19421728
J Autism Dev Disord. 2006 Jan;36(1):5-25
16450045
Int J Dev Neurosci. 2005 Apr-May;23(2-3):143-52
15749241
J Autism Dev Disord. 2008 Apr;38(4):606-15
17924183
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2008 Jun;3(2):177-90
19015108
J Autism Dev Disord. 2006 Jan;36(1):27-43
16453071
Nat Neurosci. 2005 Apr;8(4):519-26
15750588
J Autism Dev Disord. 2009 Sep;39(9):1305-20
19415479
J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2006 Apr;27(2 Suppl):S145-55
16685181
J Autism Dev Disord. 1994 Oct;24(5):659-85
7814313
J Autism Dev Disord. 2007 Jan;37(1):12-24
17211728
Annu Rev Psychol. 2009;60:693-716
18771388
J Cogn Neurosci. 1994 Fall;6(4):388-99
23961733
J Autism Dev Disord. 1999 Jun;29(3):213-24
10425584
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006 Sep;7(9):697-709
16924259
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Nov 22;102(47):17245-50
16284255
Neuroimage. 2004 Jul;22(3):1141-50
15219586
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1999 Jul;40(5):719-32
10433406
J Autism Dev Disord. 2007 Jan;37(1):108-21
17191096
Dev Psychol. 2003 Jul;39(4):646-56
12859119
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009 Jul;50(7):834-42
19298477