White Matter Microstructure and Atypical Visual Orienting in 7-Month-Olds at Risk for Autism

• Published in: The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 170; no. 8; pp. 899 - 908
• Main Authors: Elison, Jed T., Paterson, Sarah J., Wolff, Jason J., Reznick, J. Steven, Sasson, Noah J., Gu, Hongbin, Botteron, Kelly N., Dager, Stephen R., Estes, Annette M., Evans, Alan C., Gerig, Guido, Hazlett, Heather C., Schultz, Robert T., Styner, Martin, Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie, Piven, Joseph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arlington, VA American Psychiatric Association 01.08.2013
• Subjects: Anatomy & physiology; Attention - physiology; Autism; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Brain - pathology; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Child clinical studies; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - genetics; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - pathology; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - physiopathology; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - genetics; Cognition Disorders - physiopathology; Corpus Callosum - pathology; Corpus Callosum - physiopathology; Developmental disorders; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Emotional Intelligence - genetics; Emotional Intelligence - physiology; Eyes & eyesight; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - genetics; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Infant; Infantile autism; Leukoencephalopathies - diagnosis; Leukoencephalopathies - genetics; Leukoencephalopathies - pathology; Leukoencephalopathies - physiopathology; Male; Medical sciences; Nerve Fibers - pathology; Nerve Fibers - physiology; Neurons - pathology; Neurons - physiology; Orientation - physiology; Pediatrics; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Pyramidal Tracts - pathology; Pyramidal Tracts - physiopathology; Reaction Time - genetics; Reaction Time - physiology; Reference Values; Reticular Formation - pathology; Reticular Formation - physiopathology; Saccades - genetics; Saccades - physiology; Sensory perception; Superior Colliculi - pathology; Superior Colliculi - physiopathology; Visual Pathways - pathology; Visual Pathways - physiopathology; Autism; Perception; Developmental disorder; White matter; Vision; Risk factor
• ISSN: 0002-953X; 1535-7228
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12091150

Specific differences in visual orienting, critical in social-cognitive development, are associated with differences in white matter microstructure of the splenium. ObjectiveThe authors sought to determine whether specific patterns of oculomotor functioning and visual orienting characterize 7-month-old infants who later meet criteria for an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to identify the neural correlates of these behaviors.MethodData were collected from 97 infants, of whom 16 were high-familial-risk infants later classified as having an ASD, 40 were high-familial-risk infants who did not later meet ASD criteria (high-risk negative), and 41 were low-risk infants. All infants underwent an eye-tracking task at a mean age of 7 months and a clinical assessment at a mean age of 25 months. Diffusion-weighted imaging data were acquired for 84 of the infants at 7 months. Primary outcome measures included average saccadic reaction time in a visually guided saccade procedure and radial diffusivity (an index of white matter organization) in fiber tracts that included corticospinal pathways and the splenium and genu of the corpus callosum.ResultsVisual orienting latencies were longer in 7-month-old infants who expressed ASD symptoms at 25 months compared with both high-risk negative infants and low-risk infants. Visual orienting latencies were uniquely associated with the microstructural organization of the splenium of the corpus callosum in low-risk infants, but this association was not apparent in infants later classified as having an ASD.ConclusionsFlexibly and efficiently orienting to salient information in the environment is critical for subsequent cognitive and social-cognitive development. Atypical visual orienting may represent an early prodromal feature of an ASD, and abnormal functional specialization of posterior cortical circuits directly informs a novel model of ASD pathogenesis.