Haartsen Rianne, Charman Tony, Pasco Greg, Johnson Mark H, Jones Emily J H
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
ToddlerLab, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
Sci Rep. 2022 Dec 1;12(1):20758. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24870-7.
Theta oscillations (spectral power and connectivity) are sensitive to the social content of an experience in typically developing infants, providing a possible marker of early social brain development. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting early social behaviour, but links to underlying social brain function remain unclear. We explored whether modulations of theta spectral power and connectivity by naturalistic social content in infancy are related to family history for autism. Fourteen-month-old infants with (family history; FH; N = 75) and without (no family history; NFH; N = 26) a first-degree relative with autism watched social and non-social videos during EEG recording. We calculated theta (4-5 Hz) spectral power and connectivity modulations (social-non-social) and associated them with outcomes at 36 months. We replicated previous findings of increased theta power and connectivity during social compared to non-social videos. Theta modulations with social content were similar between groups, for both power and connectivity. Together, these findings suggest that neural responses to naturalistic social stimuli may not be strongly altered in 14-month-old infants with family history of autism.
θ振荡（频谱功率和连通性）对典型发育婴儿的社交体验内容敏感，这可能是早期社会脑发育的一个标志。自闭症是一种影响早期社交行为的神经发育障碍，但与潜在的社会脑功能之间的联系仍不清楚。我们探讨了婴儿期自然主义社交内容对θ频谱功率和连通性的调节是否与自闭症家族史有关。有（家族史；FH；N = 75）和没有（无家族史；NFH；N = 26）自闭症一级亲属的14个月大婴儿在脑电图记录期间观看社交和非社交视频。我们计算了θ（4 - 5Hz）频谱功率和连通性调节（社交 - 非社交），并将它们与36个月时的结果相关联。我们重复了之前的研究结果，即与非社交视频相比，社交视频期间θ功率和连通性增加。两组之间社交内容的θ调节在功率和连通性方面相似。总之，这些发现表明，有自闭症家族史的14个月大婴儿对自然主义社交刺激的神经反应可能没有明显改变。
