Gaze behaviour to lateral face stimuli in infants who do and do not receive an ASD diagnosis

Abstract

Cerebral lateralisation of function is a common characteristic across vertebrate species and is positively associated with fitness of the organism, in humans we hypothesise that it is associated with cognitive fitness. This investigation evaluated the early development of lateralised gaze behaviour for face stimuli in infants at high and low risk for autism from the British Autism Sibling Infant Study (BASIS). The BASIS cohort includes a low risk group and three high-risk groups who at age 3 were developing (i) typically, (ii) atypically or (iii) had received a diagnosis for ASD. Using eye-tracking data derived from a face pop-out task at 6 and 14 months of age, all non-ASD groups showed a bias for stimuli on the left at both timepoints. At 6 months the ASD group demonstrated a preference for stimuli on the right and were slower than their neurotypical counterparts to look at faces on the left. However, by 14 months these differences disappear. Longitudinal associations between lateral looking behaviour at 6 months and language and motor ability at 14 months were also found. Results suggest that infants who go on to be diagnosed with autism exhibit early differences in gaze behaviour that may be associated with subsequent cognitive outcomes.

Hindsight 20/20: The future of laterality research

“…However, research suggests that reversed brain organization occurs least frequently in the general population (reviewed in Vingerhoets, 2019) and that the frequency of reversed brain organization rises in populations of individuals with autism (e.g., Forrester, Davis, Malatesta, & Todd, 2020). Moreover, studies of infants and children have revealed positive relationships between the direction of behavioral biases and cognitive performance (Donati, Davis, & Forrester, 2020;Forrester et al, 2020;Forrester, Davis, Mareschal, Malatesta, & Todd, 2019).…”

“…We do not know if this is still true in humans. Therefore, it is necessary that we gain a better understanding of the role that early sensory-motor biases play in supporting the development of higher-order cognitive abilities (Donati et al, 2020;Forrester et al, 2019;Forrester et al, 2020;Forrester & Todd, 2018;Michel, Babik, Nelson, Campbell, & Marcinowski, 2013). Some studies suggest that the strength of bias may be more important for cognitive development than the direction of the bias as an indication of functional specialization (Mellet et al, 2014).…”

“…Some studies suggest that the strength of bias may be more important for cognitive development than the direction of the bias as an indication of functional specialization (Mellet et al, 2014). Healthy child populations tend to possess strong behavioral biases (regardless of direction), whereas the presence and strength of brain and behavioral biases decrease by comparison in some clinical populations (e.g., autism) (Donati et al, 2020;Floris et al, 2016;Forrester et al, 2020;Forrester, Pegler, Thomas, & Mareschal,2014;Lindell & Hudry,2013). However, studies that have focused primarily on adult participants have found inconsistent results including U-shaped relationships where cognitive performances were associated with mild to moderate lateralization and decreased with extreme lateralization (Boles, Barth, & Merrill,2008;Hirnstein, Leask, Rose, & Hausmann, 2010) suggesting over specialization may be detrimental to cognitive flexibility.…”

Abnormal visual attention to simple social stimuli in 4-month-old infants at high risk for Autism

“…Moreover, a recent study demonstrated that early biases in gaze behavior for face stimuli may be considered as behavioral markers of atypical cerebral lateralization patterns. Six-month-old infants, who received an ASD diagnosis at 3 years, were slower to look at faces presented on the left compared to a group of at low-risk (LR) infants 30 .…”

Evolution and function of neurocognitive systems in non-human animals

“…Both the similarity and differences among species can help us understand the evolution of neurocognitive features and behaviours. Species as close to humans as primates enable scientists to look at brain structures and pathways (e.g., sulcal morphology 1 ; fast visual responses in the amygdala 2 ) and behavioural characteristics thought to be exclusive to our species (e.g., left-cradling bias 3 ; lateral eye bias 4 ; handedness 5 ; abstract concept learning 6 ), and investigate their neuroanatomical, genetic, and environmental basis (e.g., mutual gaze in social communication 7 ). At the same time, the study and comparison of phylogenetically distant species, like birds or fish, can be ideal for testing predictions about the generality and conservation of brain mechanisms across the evolutionary tree (e.g., inhibition of return in barn owls 8 ; Approximate Number System in zebrafish 9 ; numerical discrimination in domestic chicks 10 ; visual mental manipulation in Grey parrot, children, and human adults 11 ).…”