A SD is a common developmental disorder that is believed to affect approximately 2.8 million people in the UK.
Usually symptoms start to appear in the toddler years, but no one knew whether it was possible to pick them up earlier and thus help parents. Prepare for the disorder.
Scientists from Birkbeck, University of London, University of Cambridge, University College London and King's College London used neuroimaging technology to measure the brain activity of infants aged 4-6 months.
They then compared the scans of babies who had siblings with ASD and those without. Children with a family link have a much greater chance of developing the condition.
They investigated how the brain activity of the baby changed in response to & # 39; social & # 39; video & # 39; s of people, like people playing peekaboo or incy-wincy-spin, with & # 39; non-social & # 39; images of objects such as car & # 39; s.
They also measured the baby's brain activity in response to human vocalizations (coughing, yawning, crying, and laughter) compared to non-human sounds (bubbles, running water)
Baby & # 39; s those not diagnosed with ASD showed higher levels of activity in response to social stimuli than non-social stimuli.
It is the first study showing that functional brain reactions before 6 months of age are associated with a later ASD diagnosis after 3 years, which means that these findings could show the earliest marker of ASD to date.
This study is part of a much larger series of longitudinal projects, the British Autism Study for Infant Siblings (BASIC) Netw ork.
Source link