Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Visual Attention and Autistic Behavior in Infants with Fragile X Syndrome

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aberrant attention is a core feature of fragile X syndrome (FXS), however, little is known regarding the developmental trajectory and underlying physiological processes of attention deficits in FXS. Atypical visual attention is an early emerging and robust indictor of autism in idiopathic (non-FXS) autism. Using a biobehavioral approach with gaze direction and heart activity, we examined visual attention in infants with FXS at 9, 12, and 18 months of age with a cross-sectional comparison to 12-month-old typically developing infants. Analyses revealed lower HR variability, shallower HR decelerations, and prolonged look durations in 12-month old infants with FXS compared to typical controls. Look duration and increased latency to disengage attention were correlated with severity of autistic behavior but not mental age.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bailey, D. B., Jr., Raspa, M., Holiday, D., Bishop, E., & Olmsted, M. (2009). Functional skills of individuals with fragile X syndrome: A lifespan cross-sectional analysis. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 14, 289–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bornstein, M. H. (1998). Stability in mental development from early life: Methods, measures, models, meanings, and myths. In F. Simion & G. Butterworth (Eds.), The development of sensory, motor and cognitive capacities in early infancy: From perception to cognition (pp. 301–332). Hove, England/Erlbaum, UK: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryson, S. E., Czapinski, P., Landry, R., McDonnel, B., Rombough, V., & Wainwright, A. (2004). Autistic spectrum disorders: Causal mechanisms and recent findings on attention and emotion. International Journal of Special Education, 19, 14–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryson, S. E., Rogers, S. J., & Fombonne, E. (2003). Autism spectrum disorders: Early detection, intervention, education, and psychopharmacological management. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48, 506–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, I. L. (1995). A theoretical analysis of the role of hyperarousal in the learning and behavior of fragile X males. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 1(4), 286–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colombo, J., Kannass, K. N., Shaddy, D. J., Kundurthi, S., Maikranz, J. M., Anderson, C. J., et al. (2004). Maternal DHA and the development of attention in infancy and toddlerhood. Child Development, 75, 1254–1267.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Courage, M. L., Reynolds, G. D., & Richards, J. E. (2006). Infants’ attention to patterned stimuli: Developmental change from 3 to 12 months of age. Child Development, 77, 680–695.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dombrowski, C., Lévesque, S., Morel, M. L., Rouillard, P., Morgan, K., & Rousseau, F. (2002). Premutation and intermediate-size FMR1 alleles in 10572 males from the general population: Loss of an AAG interruption is a late event in the generation of fragile X syndrome alleles. Human Molecular Genetics, 11, 371–378.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elsabbagh, M., Volein, A., Holmboe, K., Tucker, L., Csibra, G., Baron-Cohen, S., et al. (2009). Visual orienting in the early broader autism phenotype: Disengagement and facilitation. Journal of Child Psychological Psychiatry, 50, 637–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, H. H., & Rothbart, M. K. (1996). The laboratory temperament assessment battery (LAB-TAB). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, H. H., & Rothbart, M. K. (1999). The laboratory temperament assessment battery (LAB-TAB, Prelocomotor Version, Edition 3.1). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

  • Hagerman, R. J. (2002). Medical follow-up and pharmacotherapy. In R. J. Hagerman & P. J. Hagerman (Eds.), Fragile X syndrome: Diagnosis, treatment, and research (pp. 287–338). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagerman, R. J. (2008). Etiology, diagnosis, and development in fragile X syndrome. In J. E. Roberts, R. S. Chapman, & S. F. Warren (Eds.), Speech and language development and intervention in Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome (pp. 27–49). Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagerman, R. J., Berry-Kravis, E., Kaufmann, W. E., Ono, M. Y., Tartaglia, N., Lachiewicz, A., et al. (2009). Advances in the treatment of fragile X syndrome. Pediatrics, 123, 378–390.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, S. S., Lightbody, A. A., Huffman, L. C., Lazzeroni, L. C., & Reiss, A. L. (2009). Physiological correlates of social avoidance behavior in children and adolescents with fragile X syndrome. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(3), 320–329.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, S. S., Lightbody, A. A., & Reiss, A. L. (2008). Compulsive, self-injurious, and autistic behavior in children and adolescents with fragile X syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 113, 44–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, S. W., Hessl, D., Goodlin-Jones, B., Ferranti, J., Bacalman, S., Barbato, I., et al. (2008). Autism profiles of males with fragile X syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 113, 427–438.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. P., & Myers, S. M. (2007). Identification and evaluation of children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics, 120, 1183–1215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann, W. E., Cortell, R., Kau, A. S., Bukelis, I., Tierney, E., Gray, R. M., et al. (2004). Autism spectrum disorder in fragile X syndrome: Communication, social interaction, and specific behaviors. American Journal of Medical Genetics A, 129A, 225–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kogan, M. D., Blumberg, S. J., Schieve, L. A., Boyle, C. A., Perrin, J. M., Ghandour, R. M., et al. (2009). Prevalence of parent-reported diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder among children in the US, 2007. Pediatrics, 124, 1395–1403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landa, R., & Garret-Mayer, E. (2006). Development in infants with autism spectrum disorders: A prospective study. Journal of Child Psychological Psychiatry, 47, 629–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merin, N., Young, G. S., Ozonoff, S., & Rogers, S. J. (2007). Visual fixation patterns during reciprocal social interaction distinguish a subgroup of 6-month-old infants at-risk for autism from comparison infants. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 108–121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mini-Logger 2000. (1994). Computer software. Sunriver, OR: Mini Mitter Co., Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, E. M. (1995). Mullen scales of early learning: AGS edition. San Antonio, TX: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, J. E. (1987). Infant visual sustained attention and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Child Development, 58, 488–496.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, J. E., & Casey, B. J. (1991). Heart rate variability during attention phases in young infants. Psychophysiology, 28(1), 43–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, J. E., & Turner, E. D. (2001). Extended visual fixation and distractibility in children from six to twenty-four months of age. Child Development, 72(4), 963–972.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera, S. M., Menon, V., White, C. D., Glaser, B., & Reiss, A. L. (2002). Functional brain activation during arithmetic processing in females with fragile X syndrome is related to FMR1 protein expression. Human Brain Mapping, 16, 206–218.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, J. E., Boccia, M. L., Bailey, D. B., Jr., Hatton, D. D., & Skinner, M. (2001). Cardiovascular indices of physiological arousal in boys with fragile X syndrome. Developmental Psychobiology, 39, 107–123.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, J. E., Boccia, M. L., Hatton, D. D., Skinner, M. L., & Sideris, J. (2006). Temperament and vagal tone in boys with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Developmental Behavior Pediatrics, 27, 193–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, J. E., McDonald, L., Kelleher, B. L., & Shinkareva, S. (2010). Heart activity and autistic behavior in infants with fragile X syndrome. In J. E. Roberts (Chair), Detection and effect of autism on infants and preschoolers with fragile X syndrome. Symposium conducted at the 42nd annual Gatlinburg conference on research and theory in intellectual and developmental disabilities, Annapolis, MD.

  • Scerif, G., Cornish, K., Wilding, J., Driver, J., & Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2004). Visual search in typically developing toddlers and toddlers with Fragile X or Williams syndrome. Developmental Science, 7, 116–130.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scerif, G., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Campos, R., Elsabbagh, M., Driver, J., & Cornish, K. (2005). To look or not to look? Typical and atypical development of oculomotor control. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 591–604.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., & Renner, B. R. (1988). Childhood autism rating scale. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanahan, M. A., Pennington, B. F., Yerys, B. E., Scott, A., Boada, R., Willcutt, E. G., et al. (2006). Processing speed deficits in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and reading disability. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(5), 584–601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sudhalter, V., & Belser, R. C. (2001). Conversational characteristics of children with fragile X syndrome: Tangential language. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 106(5), 389–400.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, K., Hatton, D., Hammer, J., Sideris, J., Hooper, S., Ornstein, P., et al. (2006). ADHD symptoms in children with FXS. American Journal of Medical Genetics A, 140, 2275–2288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zingerevich, C., Greiss-Hess, L., Lemons-Chitwood, K., Harris, S. W., Hessl, D., Cook, K., et al. (2009). Motor abilities of children diagnosed with fragile X syndrome with and without autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 53, 11–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., Rogers, T., Roberts, W., Brian, J., & Szatmari, P. (2005). Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23, 143–152.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30-HD003110-35S1) and the office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education (H324C990042).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Jane E. Roberts

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29201, USA

  2. Deborah D. Hatton

    Present address: Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, Nashville, TN, 37203-5721, USA

  3. Anna C. J. Long

    Present address: Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Connecticut, 249 Glenbrook Road, Unit 206A, Storrs, CT, 06269-2064, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA

    Jane E. Roberts, Deborah D. Hatton & Anna C. J. Long

  2. Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29201, USA

    Vittoria Anello

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, 1415 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    John Colombo

  4. Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Jane E. Roberts

Authors
  1. Jane E. Roberts
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Deborah D. Hatton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anna C. J. Long
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Vittoria Anello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John Colombo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane E. Roberts.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Roberts, J.E., Hatton, D.D., Long, A.C.J. et al. Visual Attention and Autistic Behavior in Infants with Fragile X Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 937–946 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1316-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1316-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation