Early thinking and motor skills in babies at risk for autism

Around what age do the core behavioral features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) typically appear to emerge?

Core behavioral features of ASD appear to emerge within the first 2 years of life.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What set of cognitive processes does Executive Functioning (EF) refer to?

EF refers to a set of cognitive functions including attention, behavioral inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, and problem solving.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Which specific executive function is thought to be among the first to emerge during typical infant development?

The ability to inhibit prepotent responses (response inhibition) is among the earliest to emerge.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Which executive function is hypothesized to be the latest to emerge during typical development?

Cognitive flexibility is generally considered the latest executive function to emerge.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What cognitive measures are significantly related to performance on executive functioning tasks in children with ASD?

Verbal and Non-verbal IQ are significantly related to performance on EF tasks measuring inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Which two brain structures show co-activation on executive functioning tasks, suggesting strong neural connections?

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum exhibit co-activation during EF tasks.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

In typically developing infants, what gross motor milestone is linked to success on the A-not-B task?

The experience of self-locomotion, such as walking, is associated with success on the A-not-B task.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What was the main purpose of this study?

To investigate the longitudinal patterns of executive functioning (EF) performance in infant siblings at high and low risk for ASD.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What three diagnostic outcome groups were established at 24 months in this study?

The three groups were HR-ASD (high-risk developed ASD), HR-Negative (high-risk did not develop ASD), and LR-Negative (low-risk did not develop ASD).

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI

What developmental and medical conditions served as exclusion criteria for infant participants?

Exclusions included birth weight under 2000 g, gestational age under 36 weeks, medical or neurological conditions (like seizures), genetic syndromes, and twins.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI

Which specific task was used to evaluate executive functioning at 12 and 24 months?

The A-not-B task.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What two metrics were calculated from the A-not-B task to measure working memory and response inhibition, respectively?

Working memory was measured by the proportion of total correct reaches, while response inhibition was measured by the proportion of correct reaches on reversal trials.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Which standardized assessment was utilized to evaluate motor and cognitive skills?

The Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL).

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Why did the researchers use the MSEL Visual Reception subscale as a proxy for overall cognitive ability instead of the overall composite score?

Because the overall composite includes the Fine Motor subscale, which was being evaluated as an independent predictor in the study.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What clinical tools contributed to establishing the diagnosis of ASD at 24 months?

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) contributed to a clinical best estimate diagnosis.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What statistical approach was used to model the longitudinal progression of EF from 12 to 24 months?

Generalized estimating equations (GEE).

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Was there a significant main effect of Time on infant working memory performance, and what did it show?

Yes, there was a significant main effect of Time, indicating that overall working memory performance changed from 12 to 24 months across groups.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

How did working memory trajectory from 12 to 24 months differ between high-risk infants and low-risk controls?

The LR-Negative group showed significant improvement, while both the HR-ASD and HR-Negative groups demonstrated significantly less improvement over time.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What pattern of change over time was observed for response inhibition in the high-risk and low-risk groups?

The LR-Negative group improved in response inhibition, whereas the HR-Negative group (and trend-wise the HR-ASD group) slightly worsened over time.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Were there significant differences in working memory or response inhibition across the outcome groups at 12 months?

No, there were no significant main effects of group on working memory or response inhibition at 12 months of age.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What surprising relationship was found between Fine Motor scores and executive functioning at 12 months?

Lower Fine Motor scores were associated with better working memory and better response inhibition at 12 months of age.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

How did the HR-ASD group differ from the LR-Negative group regarding the association between Fine Motor skills and response inhibition at 12 months?

The HR-ASD group showed a negative association (better motor skills predicted worse response inhibition), while the LR-Negative group showed a positive association.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What group differences in working memory were observed at 24 months of age?

Both the HR-ASD and HR-Negative groups performed significantly worse than the LR-Negative group, but did not differ from one another.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

How was Fine Motor skill associated with working memory across groups at 24 months of age?

Higher Fine Motor scores were associated with better working memory performance.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

How was Gross Motor skill associated with response inhibition across groups at 24 months?

Higher Gross Motor scores were significantly associated with better response inhibition.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What group differences in response inhibition were observed at 24 months of age?

There was a significant group effect, with the HR-ASD group performing significantly worse than the LR-Negative group.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

How do researchers interpret the finding that HR-Negative infants (who do not develop ASD) also show EF deficits compared to low-risk controls?

These EF differences may represent a genetic liability or vulnerability for developmental problems within high-risk families.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI

Why is this study considered unique and highly significant in ASD literature?

It provides the earliest evidence to date of EF differences in ASD, showing they emerge in the second year of life as core symptoms consolidate.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What other developmental challenges (besides EF) are often observed in HR-Negative siblings?

They may display lower developmental functioning, language delay, social difficulties, and higher levels of internalizing problems.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Why might working memory deficits be more apparent than response inhibition deficits in the HR-Negative group at 24 months?

The working memory demands of the A-not-B task may be lower than its inhibitory demands, allowing minor executive difficulties to be exposed.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What methodological reason might explain why no EF differences were detected at 12 months in this study?

Motor-based tasks like the A-not-B may be less sensitive for detecting early EF issues than non-motor, computer-based tasks.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

How might early autism traits like 'object preference' explain why poor 12-month motor skills were linked to better A-not-B performance?

Infants with early ASD traits may have an increased interest in objects, making the object-seeking task highly rewarding and boosting performance.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Do the researchers support the 'primary deficit hypothesis,' which suggests EF deficits cause all core ASD symptoms?

No, they suggest EF deficits contribute to some observed difficulties but do not fully explain or cause all ASD symptoms.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

What are two notable limitations of using the A-not-B task as an index of executive functioning in toddlers?

The task has low specificity (measuring overlapping EFs), and there are no published standardized norms for reference.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified

Why is using a 24-month diagnostic outcome a potential limitation in this longitudinal study?

Some children categorized as 'negative' at 24 months are diagnosed later (e.g., at 36 months), meaning some high-risk infants may have been misclassified.

Source: Emerging Executive Functioning and Motor Development in Infants at High and Low Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder · DOI · quote verified