title: Difference in Visual Social Predispositions Between Newborns at Low- and High-risk for Autism.
abstract: Some key behavioural traits of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been hypothesized to be due to impairments in the early activation of subcortical orienting mechanisms, which in typical development bias newborns to orient to relevant social visual stimuli. A challenge to testing this hypothesis is that autism is usually not diagnosed until a child is at least 3 years old. Here, we circumvented this difficulty by studying for the very first time, the predispositions to pay attention to social stimuli in newborns with a high familial risk of autism. Results showed that visual preferences to social stimuli strikingly differed between high-risk and low-risk newborns. Significant predictors for high-risk newborns were obtained and an accurate biomarker was identified. The results revealed early behavioural characteristics of newborns with familial risk for ASD, allowing for a prospective approach to the emergence of autism in early infancy.
authors.affiliation: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Giorgio
authors.affiliation: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068, Italy.|Department of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, EX44QG, UK.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Frasnelli
authors.affiliation: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068, Italy.
authors.forename: Orsola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rosa Salva
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Scattoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Puopolo
authors.affiliation: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tosoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35135, Italy.|Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35135, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simion
authors.affiliation: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vallortigara
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception