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Viktorsson C, Portugal AM, Taylor MJ, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Sustained looking at faces at 5 months of age is associated with socio-communicative skills in the second year of life. INFANCY 2024; 29:459-478. [PMID: 38358338 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Efficiently processing information from faces in infancy is foundational for nonverbal communication. We studied individual differences in 5-month-old infants' (N = 517) sustained attention to faces and preference for emotional faces. We assessed the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to individual differences in these gaze behaviors, and the association between these traits and other concurrent and later phenotypes. We found an association between the mean duration of looking at a face (before looking away from it) at 5 months and socio-communicative abilities at 14 months (β = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.08; 0.26, p < 0.001). Sustained attention to faces predicted socio-communicative abilities over and above variance captured by mean fixation duration. We also found a statistically significant but weak tendency to prefer looking at smiling faces (relative to neutral faces), but no indication that variability in this behavior was explained by genetic effects. Moderate heritability was found for sustained attention to faces (A = 0.23, CI: 0.06; 0.38), while shared environmental influences were non-significant for both phenotypes. These findings suggest that sustained looking at individual faces before looking away is a developmentally significant 'social attention' phenotype in infancy, characterized by moderate heritability and a specific relation to later socio-communicative abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Surrey, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden
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2
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Kulke L. Coregistration of EEG and eye-tracking in infants and developing populations. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024:10.3758/s13414-024-02857-y. [PMID: 38388851 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02857-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Infants cannot be instructed where to look; therefore, infant researchers rely on observation of their participant's gaze to make inferences about their cognitive processes. They therefore started studying infant attention in the real world from early on. Developmental researchers were early adopters of methods combining observations of gaze and behaviour with electroencephalography (EEG) to study attention and other cognitive functions. However, the direct combination of eye-tracking methods and EEG to test infants is still rare, as it includes specific challenges. The current article reviews the development of co-registration research in infancy. It points out specific challenges of co-registration in infant research and suggests ways to overcome them. It ends with recommendations for implementing the co-registration of EEG and eye-tracking in infant research to maximise the benefits of the two measures and their combination and to orient on Open Science principles while doing so. In summary, this work shows that the co-registration of EEG and eye-tracking in infant research can be beneficial to studying natural and real-world behaviour despite its challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louisa Kulke
- Department of Developmental Psychology with Educational Psychology, University of Bremen, Hochschulring 18, 28359, Bremen, Germany.
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3
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Viktorsson C, Portugal AM, Falck-Ytter T. Genetic and environmental contributions to gaze lateralization across social and non-social stimuli in human infants. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3668. [PMID: 38351309 PMCID: PMC10864339 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54373-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
A tendency to look at the left side of faces from the observer's point of view has been found in older children and adults, but it is not known when this face-specific left gaze bias develops and what factors may influence individual differences in gaze lateralization. Therefore, the aims of this study were to estimate gaze lateralization during face observation and to more broadly estimate lateralization tendencies across a wider set of social and non-social stimuli, in early infancy. In addition, we aimed to estimate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on lateralization of gaze. We studied gaze lateralization in 592 5-month-old twins (282 females, 330 monozygotic twins) by recording their gaze while viewing faces and two other types of stimuli that consisted of either collections of dots (non-social stimuli) or faces interspersed with objects (mixed stimuli). A right gaze bias was found when viewing faces, and this measure was moderately heritable (A = 0.38, 95% CI 0.24; 0.50). A left gaze bias was observed in the non-social condition, while a right gaze bias was found in the mixed condition, suggesting that there is no general left gaze bias at this age. Genetic influence on individual differences in gaze lateralization was only found for the tendency to look at the right versus left side of faces, suggesting genetic specificity of lateralized gaze when viewing faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Portugal AM, Viktorsson C, Taylor MJ, Mason L, Tammimies K, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Infants' looking preferences for social versus non-social objects reflect genetic variation. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:115-124. [PMID: 38012276 PMCID: PMC10810753 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01764-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
To what extent do individual differences in infants' early preference for faces versus non-facial objects reflect genetic and environmental factors? Here in a sample of 536 5-month-old same-sex twins, we assessed attention to faces using eye tracking in two ways: initial orienting to faces at the start of the trial (thought to reflect subcortical processing) and sustained face preference throughout the trial (thought to reflect emerging attention control). Twin model fitting suggested an influence of genetic and unique environmental effects, but there was no evidence for an effect of shared environment. The heritability of face orienting and preference were 0.19 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.04 to 0.33) and 0.46 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.57), respectively. Face preference was associated positively with later parent-reported verbal competence (β = 0.14, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.25, P = 0.014, R2 = 0.018, N = 420). This study suggests that individual differences in young infants' selection of perceptual input-social versus non-social-are heritable, providing a developmental perspective on gene-environment interplay occurring at the level of eye movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Childrn's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Luke Mason
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Kristiina Tammimies
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Childrn's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden
- Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Childrn's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Shic F, Dommer KJ, Benton J, Li B, Snider JC, Nyström P, Falck-Ytter T. Remote, tablet-based assessment of gaze following: a nationwide infant twin study. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1223267. [PMID: 37854132 PMCID: PMC10579944 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1223267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Much of our understanding of infant psychological development relies on an in-person, laboratory-based assessment. This limits research generalizability, scalability, and equity in access. One solution is the development of new, remotely deployed assessment tools that do not require real-time experimenter supervision. Methods The current nationwide (Sweden) infant twin study assessed participants remotely via their caregiver's tablets (N = 104, ages 3 to 17 months). To anchor our findings in previous research, we used a gaze-following task where experimental and age effects are well established. Results Closely mimicking results from conventional eye tracking, we found that a full head movement elicited more gaze following than isolated eye movements. Furthermore, predictably, we found that older infants followed gaze more frequently than younger infants. Finally, while we found no indication of genetic contributions to gaze-following accuracy, the latency to disengage from the gaze cue and orient toward a target was significantly more similar in monozygotic twins than in dizygotic twins, an indicative of heritability. Discussion Together, these results highlight the potential of remote assessment of infants' psychological development, which can improve generalizability, inclusion, and scalability in developmental research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick Shic
- Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Kelsey Jackson Dommer
- Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Jessica Benton
- Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Beibin Li
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - James C. Snider
- Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Par Nyström
- Uppsala Child and Babylab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), Uppsala, Sweden
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6
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Alexander N, Illius S, Feyerabend D, Wacker J, Liszkowski U. Don't miss the chance to reap the fruits of recent advances in behavioral genetics. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e208. [PMID: 37694995 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22002497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
In her target article, Burt revives a by now ancient debate on nature and nurture, and the ways to measure, disentangle, and ultimately trust one or the other of these forces. Unfortunately, she largely dismisses recent advances in behavior genetics and its huge potential in contributing to a better prediction and understanding of complex traits in social sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Alexander
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany. ; UKGM Gießen/Marburg-Team
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Sabrina Illius
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- ICAN Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dennis Feyerabend
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jan Wacker
- Department of Differential Psychology and Psychological Assessment, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany ; https://www.koku.uni-hamburg.de/en/koku-team/liszkowski.html
| | - Ulf Liszkowski
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Hardiansyah I, Nyström P, Taylor MJ, Bölte S, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Global motion processing in infants' visual cortex and the emergence of autism. Commun Biol 2023; 6:339. [PMID: 36977757 PMCID: PMC10050234 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04707-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism is a heritable and common neurodevelopmental condition, with behavioural symptoms typically emerging around age 2 to 3 years. Differences in basic perceptual processes have been documented in autistic children and adults. Specifically, data from many experiments suggest links between autism and alterations in global visual motion processing (i.e., when individual motion information is integrated to perceive an overall coherent pattern). Yet, no study has investigated whether a distinctive organization of global motion processing precede the emergence of autistic symptoms in early childhood. Here, using a validated infant electroencephalography (EEG) experimental paradigm, we first establish the normative activation profiles for global form, global motion, local form, and local motion in the visual cortex based on data from two samples of 5-month-old infants (total n = 473). Further, in a sample of 5-month-olds at elevated likelihood of autism (n = 52), we show that a different topographical organization of global motion processing is associated with autistic symptoms in toddlerhood. These findings advance the understanding of neural organization of infants' basic visual processing, and its role in the development of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irzam Hardiansyah
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Pär Nyström
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden
- Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Angelica Ronald
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Viktorsson C, Portugal AM, Li D, Rudling M, Siqueiros Sanchez M, Tammimies K, Taylor MJ, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Preferential looking to eyes versus mouth in early infancy: heritability and link to concurrent and later development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:311-319. [PMID: 36426800 PMCID: PMC10100106 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND From birth, infants orient preferentially to faces, and when looking at the face, they attend primarily to eyes and mouth. These areas convey different types of information, and earlier research suggests that genetic factors influence the preference for one or the other in young children. METHODS In a sample of 535 5-month-old infant twins, we assessed eye (relative to mouth) preference in early infancy, i.e., before neural systems for social communication and language are fully developed. We investigated the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the preference for looking at eyes, and the association with concurrent traits and follow-up measures. RESULTS Eye preference was independent from all other concurrent traits measured, and had a moderate-to-high contribution from genetic influences (A = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.66). Preference for eyes at 5 months was associated with higher parent ratings of receptive vocabulary at 14 months. No statistically significant association with later autistic traits was found. Preference for eyes was strikingly stable across different stimulus types (e.g., dynamic vs. still), suggesting that infants' preference at this age does not reflect sensitivity to low-level visual cues. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that individual differences in infants' preferential looking to eyes versus mouth to a substantial degree reflect genetic variation. The findings provide new leads on both the perceptual basis and the developmental consequences of these attentional biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Danyang Li
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maja Rudling
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Monica Siqueiros Sanchez
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Kristiina Tammimies
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden
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Rudling M, Portugal AM, Bölte S, Falck‐Ytter T. Pre‐pragmatic language use in toddlerhood: Developmental antecedents, aetiological factors, and associations to autism. JCPP ADVANCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Maja Rudling
- Department of Psychology Development and Neurodiversity Lab Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Department of Psychology Development and Neurodiversity Lab Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
- Department of Women's and Children's Health Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND) Centre for Psychiatry Research Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden
| | - Sven Bölte
- Department of Women's and Children's Health Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND) Centre for Psychiatry Research Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden
- Curtin Autism Research Group School of Allied Health Curtin University Perth Western Australia Australia
| | - Terje Falck‐Ytter
- Department of Psychology Development and Neurodiversity Lab Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
- Department of Women's and Children's Health Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND) Centre for Psychiatry Research Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study Uppsala Sweden
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10
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Portugal AM, Taylor MJ, Viktorsson C, Nyström P, Li D, Tammimies K, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Pupil size and pupillary light reflex in early infancy: heritability and link to genetic liability to schizophrenia. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2022; 63:1068-1077. [PMID: 34939671 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Measures based on pupillometry, such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) and baseline pupil size, reflect physiological responses linked to specific neural circuits that have been implicated as atypical in some psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. METHODS We investigated the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the baseline pupil size and the PLR in 510 infant twins assessed at 5 months of age (281 monozygotic and 229 dizygotic pairs), and its associations with common genetic variants associated with neurodevelopmental (autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and mental health (bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia) conditions using genome-wide polygenic scores (GPSs). RESULTS Univariate twin modelling showed high heritability at 5 months for both pupil size (h2 = .64) and constriction in response to light (h2 = .62), and bivariate twin modeling indicated substantial independence between the genetic factors influencing each (rG = .38). A statistically significant positive association between infant tonic pupil size and the GPS for schizophrenia was found (β = .15, p = .024), while there was no significant association with the GPS for autism or any other GPSs. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that some pupil measures are highly heritable in early infancy, although substantially independent in their genetic etiologies, and associated with common genetic variants linked to schizophrenia. It illustrates how genetically informed studies of infants may help us understand early physiological responses associated with psychiatric disorders which emerge much later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Maria Portugal
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Pär Nyström
- Uppsala Child & BabyLab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Danyang Li
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.,Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristiina Tammimies
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.,Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.,Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden
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11
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Quinn PD, López Pérez D, Kennedy DP, Bölte S, D'Onofrio B, Lichtenstein P, Falck‐Ytter T. Visual search: Heritability and association with general intelligence. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12779. [PMID: 35044053 PMCID: PMC9744476 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Visual search guides goal-directed action in humans and many other species, and it has been studied extensively in the past. Yet, no study has investigated the relative contributions of genes and environments to individual differences in visual search performance, or to which extent etiologies are shared with broader cognitive phenotypes. To address this gap, we studied visual search and general intelligence in 156 monozygotic (MZ) and 158 same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. We found that different indexes of visual search performance (response latency and visual search efficiency) were moderately heritable. Phenotypic correlations between visual search and intelligence were small-to-moderate, and only a small proportion of the genetic variance in visual search was shared with genetic variance in intelligence. We discuss these findings in the context of the "generalist genes hypothesis" stating that different cognitive functions have a common genetic basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick D. Quinn
- Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public HealthIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndianaUSA
| | - David López Pérez
- Neurocognitive Development UnitInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesWarsawPoland
| | - Daniel P. Kennedy
- Deparment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Cognitive Science Program, Program in NeuroscienceIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndianaUSA
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Child and Adolescent PsychiatryStockholm Health Care Services, Region StockholmStockholmSweden,Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied HealthCurtin UniversityPerthWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Brian D'Onofrio
- Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public HealthIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndianaUSA,Department of Medical Epidemiology and BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Terje Falck‐Ytter
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Child and Adolescent PsychiatryStockholm Health Care Services, Region StockholmStockholmSweden,Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of PsychologyUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden,Swedish Collegium for Advanced StudyUppsalaSweden
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