The overall UW ACE theme centers on a comprehensive developmental model of risk, risk processes, symptom emergence, and adaptation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to this model, early autism risk factors (genetic/familial and environmental) lead to risk processes, namely altered patterns of interaction between the child and his/her environment, which contribute to the abnormal development of neural circuitry and atypical behaviors. By identifying infants at risk at an early age when the brain is developing and before core autism symptoms have emerged, it might be possible to alter the developmental trajectory of children at risk for the disorder and have a significant impact on long-term outcome. Both clinical progress and basic science will profit from the identification of endophenotypes ? intermediate, quantifiable traits that predict an individual's risk of having a disorder, which can be linked to underlying cause. The goals of Project II are two-fold: First, in a sample of infant sibs, we aim to investigate whether neurophysiological risk indices (endophenotypes) measured at 6-7 mos of age will improve our ability to identify infants who will develop autism or autism-related symptoms by age 2. Second, we will assess whether it is possible to alter risk processes via early intervention with high-risk infants, thereby reducing severity of autism symptoms. Specifically, we plan to investigate the efficacy of early intervention that is designed to enhance early social responsiveness and communication in infants who are at risk for autism (infant siblings of children with autism). Despite the fact that our ability to identify infants at risk for autism is rapidly improving, early interventions for infants at risk for autism have not yet been tested. This project represents a first step toward developing effective interventions for at-risk infants. The proposed work on early autism risk factors will have impact on several key areas: (1) Identification of the biological and/or behavioral risk indices in infancy, for the development of autism and autism- related symptoms, such as language and social impairments; (2) development of intervention methods for infants and toddlers to lower the age for which there are efficacious interventions; (3) identification of individual characteristics that predict response to behavioral treatment; and (4) provision of evidence that cases of autism might be secondarily prevented through early identification and early treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Specialized Center (P50)
Project #
1P50HD055782-01
Application #
7292334
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-MRG-C (16))
Project Start
2007-08-06
Project End
2012-07-31
Budget Start
2007-08-06
Budget End
2008-07-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$540,366
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Washington
Department
Type
DUNS #
605799469
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98195
Jones, E J H; Dawson, G; Webb, S J (2018) Sensory hypersensitivity predicts enhanced attention capture by faces in the early development of ASD. Dev Cogn Neurosci 29:11-20
Jones, Emily J H; Venema, Kaitlin; Earl, Rachel K et al. (2017) Infant social attention: an endophenotype of ASD-related traits? J Child Psychol Psychiatry 58:270-281
Jones, Emily J H; Dawson, Geraldine; Kelly, Jean et al. (2017) Parent-delivered early intervention in infants at risk for ASD: Effects on electrophysiological and habituation measures of social attention. Autism Res 10:961-972
Charman, Tony; Young, Gregory S; Brian, Jessica et al. (2017) Non-ASD outcomes at 36 months in siblings at familial risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): A baby siblings research consortium (BSRC) study. Autism Res 10:169-178
Webb, Sara Jane; Garrison, Michelle M; Bernier, Raphael et al. (2017) Severity of ASD symptoms and their correlation with the presence of copy number variations and exposure to first trimester ultrasound. Autism Res 10:472-484
Zhu, Zuobin; Lu, Xitong; Yuan, Dejian et al. (2017) Close genetic relationships between a spousal pair with autism-affected children and high minor allele content in cases in autism-associated SNPs. Genomics 109:9-15
Messinger, Daniel S; Young, Gregory S; Webb, Sara Jane et al. (2016) Commentary: sex difference differences? A reply to Constantino. Mol Autism 7:31
Jones, E J H; Venema, K; Earl, R et al. (2016) Reduced engagement with social stimuli in 6-month-old infants with later autism spectrum disorder: a longitudinal prospective study of infants at high familial risk. J Neurodev Disord 8:7
Neuhaus, Emily; Jones, Emily J H; Barnes, Karen et al. (2016) The Relationship Between Early Neural Responses to Emotional Faces at Age 3 and Later Autism and Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescents with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 46:2450-63
Kleinhans, Natalia M; Reiter, Maya A; Neuhaus, Emily et al. (2016) Subregional differences in intrinsic amygdala hyperconnectivity and hypoconnectivity in autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 9:760-72

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