Biomarkers Trajectories of Early Intervention in Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Sponsor
- IRCCS Eugenio Medea
- Enrollment
- 80
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Change of looking behavior (time of fixations to Area of Interests) and pupillometry parameters (pupil diameter)
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- last year
Overview
Brief Summary
This project deals with essential challenges in the context of Autism Spectrum Disorder benefiting from a prospective design in childhood, early intervention and a cutting-edge experimental techniques. The present study tests the potential effect of early intervention on neural and behavioral responses in toddlers at elevated likelihood of developing autism (siblings of children with autism) who show clinical autistic signs. Four comparison groups were included in the study: (1) toddlers at elevated likelihood of developing autism with clinical autistic signs who receive early intervention from 18 to 24 months (2) toddlers at elevated likelihood of developing autism with clinical autistic signs who do not receive early intervention (3) toddlers at elevated likelihood of developing autism without clinical autistic signs who only received assessment and monitoring, and (4) typically developing toddlers who only received assessment and monitoring.
This study focuses on social and nonsocial sensory integration skills (measured by electroencephalographic and eyetracking recordings) to identify reliable biomarkers for early detection and intervention of autism during a critical period of development.
The characterization of biomarkers will guide the detection of the most vulnerable children that will benefit from early intervention, with the long-term aim of reducing the impact of autism on the National Health System.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Toddlers aged between 18 and 24 months
- •Toddlers at elevated likelihood of developing autism, because siblings of children with a diagnosis of autism (for group 1, 2, and 3)
Exclusion Criteria
- •Gestational age \<36 weeks and/or birthweight \< 2000 grams
- •Griffiths general quotient at 18 months \< 70
- •presence of major complications in pregnancy and/or delivery likely to affect brain development
- •presence of neurological deficits, dysmorphic markers, or other medical conditions.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change of looking behavior (time of fixations to Area of Interests) and pupillometry parameters (pupil diameter)
Time Frame: once at 24 months of age
Time of fixations (milliseconds) in different Areas of Interests (i.e., month and eyes) and pupil diameters (millimeters) will be recorded and analysed in the 4 groups at T0 (18 months) and T1 (24 months)
Change of electroencephalographic theta power (theta frequency band)
Time Frame: once at 24 months of age
Electroencephalographic theta power to synchronous/asynchronous social and nonsocial stimuli will be measured as an index of social and sensory processing in the 4 groups at T0 (18 months) and T1 (24 months). High-density 128 channel is recorded continuously throughout the session
Secondary Outcomes
- Change of standardized scores of clinical measures(Twice: at 18 and at 24 months of age)