Infant excitation/inhibition balance interacts with executive attention to predict autistic traits in childhood.

ABSTRACT: Autism is proposed to be characterised by an atypical balance of cortical excitation and inhibition (E/I). However, most studies have examined E/I alterations in older autistic individuals, meaning that findings could in part reflect homeostatic compensation. To assess the directionality of effects, it is necessary to examine alterations in E/I balance early in the lifespan before symptom emergence. Recent explanatory frameworks have argued that it is also necessary to consider how early risk features interact with later developing modifier factors to predict autism outcomes. We indexed E/I balance in early infancy by extracting the aperiodic exponent of the slope of the electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum ('1/f'). To validate our index of E/I balance, we tested for differences in th

SUBMITTER: Carter Leno V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9733024 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature