Life Science log

Using eye-tracking methods, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that toddlers with autism spend significantly more time visually examining dynamic geometric patterns than they do looking at social images ? a viewing pattern not found in either typical or developmentally delayed toddlers. The results of the study suggest that a preference for geometric patterns early in life may be a signature behavior in infants who are at-risk for autism. This preference was found in infants at-risk for autism as young as 14 months of age.?In testing 110 toddlers ages 14 to 42 months, we found that all of the toddlers who spent more than 69 percent of their time fixing their gaze on geometric images could be accurately classified as having an autism spectrum disorder or ASD,? said Karen Pierce, PhD, an assistant professor in the UCSD Department of Neurosciences and assistant director of the UCSD Autism Center of Excellence. The study will be published in the September 6 issue