Delineating Visual Habituation Profiles in Preschoolers with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Syndrome Study

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 54; no. 5; pp. 1998 - 2011
• Main Authors: Hocking, Darren R., Sun, Xiaoyun, Haebich, Kristina, Darke, Hayley, North, Kathryn N., Vivanti, Giacomo, Payne, Jonathan M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Attention - physiology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - physiopathology; Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Cognitive ability; Eye movements; Eye Movements - physiology; Eye tracking; Eye-Tracking Technology; Female; Fixation; Genetic disorders; Habituation; Habituation, Psychophysiologic - physiology; Humans; Idiopathic; Male; Neurofibromatosis; Neurofibromatosis 1 - physiopathology; Neurofibromatosis 1 - psychology; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Pediatrics; Phenotypes; Preschool children; Psychology; Public Health; Recklinghausen's disease; Tracking; Visual Perception - physiology; Autism; Eye-tracking; Neurofibromatosis Type 1; Autistic traits; Habituation
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-05913-y

Atypical habituation to repetitive information has been commonly reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but it is not yet clear whether similar abnormalities are present in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1). We employed a cross-syndrome design using a novel eye tracking paradigm to measure habituation in preschoolers with NF1, children with idiopathic ASD and typically developing (TD) children. Eye movements were recorded to examine fixation duration to simultaneously presented repeating and novel stimuli. Children with NF1 showed a bias for longer look durations to repeating stimuli at the expense of novel stimuli, and slower habituation in NF1 was associated with elevated ASD traits. These findings could indicate aberrant modulation of bottom-up attentional networks that interact with the emergence of ASD phenotypes.