Association between spectral electroencephalography power and autism risk and diagnosis in early development

The BASIS Team

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has its origins in the atypical development of brain networks. Infants who are at high familial risk for, and later diagnosed with ASD, show atypical activity in multiple electroencephalography (EEG) oscillatory measures. However, infant-sibling studies are often constrained by small sample sizes. We used the International Infant EEG Data Integration Platform, a multi-site dataset with 432 participants, including 222 at high-risk for ASD, from whom repeated measurements of EEG were collected between the ages of 3–36 months. We applied a latent growth curve model to test whether familial risk status predicts developmental trajectories of spectral power across the first 3 years of life, and whether these trajectories predict ASD outcome. Change in spectral EEG power in all frequency bands occurred during the first 3 years of life. Familial risk, but not a later diagnosis of ASD, was associated with reduced power at 3 months, and a steeper developmental change between 3 and 36 months in nearly all absolute power bands. ASD outcome was not associated with absolute power intercept or slope. No associations were found between risk or outcome and relative power. This study applied an analytic approach not used in previous prospective biomarker studies of ASD, which was modeled to reflect the temporal relationship between genetic susceptibility, brain development, and ASD diagnosis. Trajectories of spectral power appear to be predicted by familial risk; however, spectral power does not predict diagnostic outcome above and beyond familial risk status. Discrepancies between current results and previous studies are discussed. Lay Summary: Infants with an older sibling who is diagnosed with ASD are at increased risk of developing ASD themselves. This article tested whether EEG spectral power in the first year of life can predict whether these infants did or did not develop ASD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1390-1403
Number of pages14
JournalAutism Research
Volume14
Issue number7
Early online date6 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
A special thanks to all of the families and their infants who participated in research related to identifying risk for ASD across contributing sites as well as the teams that generated the rich data reported in the current manuscript. We also thank Professors Charles A. Nelson, Helen Tager-Flusberg, and Mark H. Johnson for facilitating data sharing agreements. The BASIS team, in alphabetical order: Simon Baron-Cohen, Patrick Bolton, Susie Chandler, Tony Charman, Janice Fernandes, Holly Garwood, Kristelle Hudry, Mark Johnson, Leslie Tucker, and Agnes Volein. The authors acknowledge the following sources of funding: NIMH U19 MH108206, NIH P50 HD055782, Autism Science Foundation, Autism Speaks (Webb); Brain Canada, Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (Elsabbagh); Andrew Pickles is partially supported by NIHR NF-SI-0617-10120 and Biomedical Research Centre at South London, and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. Virginia Carter Leno is funded by a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship. Rachael Bedford is supported by a King's Prize Fellowship (204823/Z/16/Z). Scott Huberty is supported by a Quebec Autism Research Trainee award provided by the Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC). Stefon van Noordt is supported by a NARSAD Young Investigators grant. The London participant dataset that is included in this manuscript was collected with support from the MRC and Autistica. The Boston participant dataset that was included as part of this analysis (P.I. Nelson, Tager-Flusberg) was collected with support from the following: RO1 DC 01290 ? MPI Tager-Flusberg/Nelson. The Seattle participant dataset that is included in this manuscript was collected with support from the NIH Autism Centers of Excellence, under the University of Washington Early Connections Project (NICHD P50 HD055782).

Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the following sources of funding: NIMH U19 MH108206, NIH P50 HD055782, Autism Science Foundation, Autism Speaks (Webb); Brain Canada, Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (Elsabbagh); Andrew Pickles is partially supported by NIHR NF‐SI‐0617‐10120 and Biomedical Research Centre at South London, and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. Virginia Carter Leno is funded by a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship. Rachael Bedford is supported by a King's Prize Fellowship (204823/Z/16/Z). Scott Huberty is supported by a Quebec Autism Research Trainee award provided by the Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC). Stefon van Noordt is supported by a NARSAD Young Investigators grant. The London participant dataset that is included in this manuscript was collected with support from the MRC and Autistica.

Funding Information:
Autism Science Foundation; Autism Speaks; Autistica; Azrieli Centre for Autism Research; Fondation Brain Canada; King's Prize Fellowship, Grant/Award Number: 204823/Z/16/Z; Medical Research Council; NARSAD Young Investigators Grant; National Institute for Health Research, Grant/Award Number: NF‐SI‐0617‐10120; National Institute of Health, Grant/Award Number: P50 HD055782; National Institute of Mental Health, Grant/Award Number: NIMH U19 MH108206; Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC) Research Trainee Award Funding information

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the following sources of funding: NIMH U19 MH108206, NIH P50 HD055782, Autism Science Foundation, Autism Speaks (Webb); Brain Canada, Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (Elsabbagh); Andrew Pickles is partially supported by NIHR NF‐SI‐0617‐10120 and Biomedical Research Centre at South London, and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. Virginia Carter Leno is funded by a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship. Rachael Bedford is supported by a King's Prize Fellowship (204823/Z/16/Z). Scott Huberty is supported by a Quebec Autism Research Trainee award provided by the Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC). Stefon van Noordt is supported by a NARSAD Young Investigators grant. The London participant dataset that is included in this manuscript was collected with support from the MRC and Autistica. Autism Science Foundation; Autism Speaks; Autistica; Azrieli Centre for Autism Research; Fondation Brain Canada; King's Prize Fellowship, Grant/Award Number: 204823/Z/16/Z; Medical Research Council; NARSAD Young Investigators Grant; National Institute for Health Research, Grant/Award Number: NF‐SI‐0617‐10120; National Institute of Health, Grant/Award Number: P50 HD055782; National Institute of Mental Health, Grant/Award Number: NIMH U19 MH108206; Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC) Research Trainee Award Funding information

Keywords

  • autism spectrum disorders
  • EEG
  • infants
  • siblings

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Genetics(clinical)

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