Difference in Visual Social Predispositions Between Newborns at Low- and High-risk for Autism

Giorgio, Elisa Di; Frasnelli, Elisa; Rosa‐Salva, Orsola; Scattoni, María Luisa; Puopolo, Maria; Tosoni, Daniela; Simion, Francesca; Vallortígara, Giorgio; Apicella, Fabio; Gagliano, Antonella; Guzzetta, Andrea; Molteni, Massimo; Persico, Antonio M.; Pioggia, Giovanni; Valeri, Giovanni; Vicari, Stefano

doi:10.1038/srep26395

Cited by 83 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Interestingly, recent studies have shown that differences in visual preference toward social vs . non-social stimuli are already evident in newborns at low and high risk for ASD, with the latter group being more attentive to non-social stimuli [121]. Our available data, unfortunately, do not help us differentiate between these two possibilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Early Predictors of Impaired Social Functioning in Male Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

et al. 2016

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social cognition impairments but its basic disease mechanisms remain poorly understood. Progress has been impeded by the absence of animal models that manifest behavioral phenotypes relevant to ASD. Rhesus monkeys are an ideal model organism to address this barrier to progress. Like humans, rhesus monkeys are highly social, possess complex social cognition abilities, and exhibit pronounced individual differences in social functioning. Moreover, we have previously shown that Low-Social (LS) vs. High-Social (HS) adult male monkeys exhibit lower social motivation and poorer social skills. It is not known, however, when these social deficits first emerge. The goals of this study were to test whether juvenile LS and HS monkeys differed as infants in their ability to process social information, and whether infant social abilities predicted later social classification (i.e., LS vs. HS), in order to facilitate earlier identification of monkeys at risk for poor social outcomes. Social classification was determined for N = 25 LS and N = 25 HS male monkeys that were 1–4 years of age. As part of a colony-wide assessment, these monkeys had previously undergone, as infants, tests of face recognition memory and the ability to respond appropriately to conspecific social signals. Monkeys later identified as LS vs. HS showed impairments in recognizing familiar vs. novel faces and in the species-typical adaptive ability to gaze avert to scenes of conspecific aggression. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression using infant social ability measures perfectly predicted later social classification of all N = 50 monkeys. These findings suggest that an early capacity to process important social information may account for differences in rhesus monkeys’ motivation and competence to establish and maintain social relationships later in life. Further development of this model will facilitate identification of novel biological targets for intervention to improve social outcomes in at-risk young monkeys.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Early Predictors of Impaired Social Functioning in Male Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

et al. 2016

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“…Individual variability in these predispositions has been observed in both species2121842, and in human neonates may be linked to high risk of developing Autism Spectrum Disorders42. Understanding whether individual variability in early predispositions has a genetic component would be of primary interest for biomedical research.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study paves the way to genomic investigation of the variability in predisposed preferences for animate objects in the chick as a model system. Understanding the genetic basis of predispositions for animacy cues and its individual variability, might have a crucial importance for translational studies on developmental pathologies, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders42. The use of chicks as system model is particularly suitable not only for the ease of handling and controlling precocial special species until the moment of test and for the established parallels between human newborns and chicks1, but also for the mounting evidence on the neurobiological basis of spontaneous predispositions7184344 and the availability of genomic tools45464748 and controlled populations with segregating variation1647.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Newborn chicks show inherited variability in early social predispositions for hen-like stimuli

Versace

Fracasso

Baldan³

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Predispositions of newborn vertebrates to preferentially attend to living beings and learn about them are pervasive. Their disturbance (e.g. in neonates at risk for autism), may compromise the proper development of a social brain. The genetic bases of such predispositions are unknown. We use the well-known visual preferences of newly-hatched chicks (Gallus gallus) for the head/neck region of the hen to investigate the presence of segregating variation in the predispositions to approach a stuffed hen vs. a scrambled version of it. We compared the spontaneous preferences of three breeds maintained genetically isolated for at least eighteen years while identically raised. Visually-naïve chicks of all breeds (Padovana, Polverara and Robusta maculata) showed the same initial preference for the predisposed stimulus, suggesting that the direction of the initial preference might be genetically fixed. A few minutes later though, striking differences emerged between breeds, which could indicate different strategies of dealing with affiliative objects: while the Polverara breed maintained a constant preference across the entire test, the Padovana and Robusta breeds progressively explored the alternative stimulus more. We hence documented the presence of inherited genetic variability in the expression of early social predispositions in interaction with environmental stimuli.

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“…These social predispositions are active since birth and, at least in animal models, emerge in the absence of any specific learning experience. One of their adaptive functions might be to guide the action of learning mechanisms, such as imprinting, towards appropriate social objects, which are important for shaping the normal development of social function and the related neural circuitry (Johnson, ; Rosa Salva et al ., ; Di Giorgio et al ., ,b; Di Giorgio et al ., in press). Domestic chicks are an ideal model to investigate early social responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The motion of a living conspecific activates septal and preoptic areas in naive domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)

Mayer

Rosa‐Salva

Morbioli

et al. 2017

Eur J of Neuroscience

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Predispositions to attend to animate objects are ubiquitous in newborn vertebrates, but little is known about their neural bases. In this study, we wanted to know if exposure to the motion of a living, behaving conspecific will selectively activate septal, preoptic and amygdaloid areas in visually naive domestic chicks. For this purpose, newly hatched chicks were exposed to a live conspecific, whose natural motion presents of course several features typical of animate motion to which chicks are known to be sensitive. In the control group, chicks were exposed to a rotating stuffed chick that showed rigid non-biological motion. The two stimuli were visually matched with regard to their static features. We measured brain activity by visualizing the immediate early gene product c-Fos with a standard immunohistochemical procedure. Notably, dorsal right septum and left preoptic area showed higher activation in experimental subjects compared to the control animals. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of septal and preoptic areas involvement in response to the animate motion of a social partner, as opposed to rigid motion of a similarly looking stimulus. Moreover, these results indicate that previous visual experience and specific learning events are not necessary to establish the septal and preoptic areas function, which is present shortly after birth.

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Difference in Visual Social Predispositions Between Newborns at Low- and High-risk for Autism

Cited by 83 publications

References 35 publications

Early Predictors of Impaired Social Functioning in Male Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Early Predictors of Impaired Social Functioning in Male Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Newborn chicks show inherited variability in early social predispositions for hen-like stimuli

The motion of a living conspecific activates septal and preoptic areas in naive domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)

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