Neonatal Transitions in Social Behavior and Their Implications for Autism

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sarah Shultz, Emory University; Ami Klin, Emory University; Warren Jones, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2018-05-01
• Publisher: Elsevier (Cell Press)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.02.012
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Trends in Cognitive Sciences
• ISSN: 1364-6613
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 5
• Start Page: 452
• End Page: 469
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health: NIMH R21 MH105816; NIMH P50 MH100029; NIMH 2P50 MH100029–6; and NIMH K01 MH108741.; Additional support provided by the Marcus Foundation; the Whitehead Foundation; the Simons Foundation; and the Georgia Research Alliance.
• Keywords: BIOLOGICAL MOTION; Neurosciences; Social Sciences; MOTHERS FACE; Psychology; Neurosciences & Neurology; LOW GENETIC RISK; DEVELOPMENTAL-CHANGES; BRAIN-DEVELOPMENT; EXPLORATORY-BEHAVIOR; VISUAL FIXATION; NEWBORN-INFANTS; Psychology, Experimental; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Science & Technology; TO-FACE INTERACTION; Behavioral Sciences; SPECTRUM DISORDER
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Health Sciences, Mental Health; Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

Within the context of early infant–caregiver interaction, we review a series of pivotal transitions that occur within the first 6 months of typical infancy, with emphasis on behavior and brain mechanisms involved in preferential orientation towards, and interaction with, other people. Our goal in reviewing these transitions is to better understand how they may lay a necessary and/or sufficient groundwork for subsequent phases of development, and also to understand how the breakdown thereof, when development is atypical and those transitions become derailed, may instead yield disability. We review these developmental processes in light of recent studies documenting disruptions to early-emerging brain and behavior mechanisms in infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, shedding light on the brain–behavior pathogenesis of autism.