Disrupted visual attention relates to cognitive development in infants with Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

IF 4.1 2区医学 Q1 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Pub Date : 2025-03-14 DOI:10.1186/s11689-025-09599-4

Jannath Begum-Ali, Luke Mason, Tony Charman, Mark H Johnson, Jonathan Green, Shruti Garg, Emily J H Jones

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is a genetic condition diagnosed in infancy that substantially increases the likelihood of a child experiencing cognitive and developmental difficulties, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children with NF1 show clear differences in attention, but whether these differences emerge in early development and how they relate to broader difficulties with cognitive and learning skills is unclear. To address this question requires longitudinal prospective studies from infancy, where the relation between domains of visual attention (including exogenous and endogenous shifting) and cognitive development can be mapped over time.

Methods: We report data from 28 infants with NF1 tested longitudinally at 5, 10 and 14 months compared to cohorts of 29 typical likelihood infants (with no history of NF1 or ASD and/or ADHD), and 123 infants with a family history of ASD and/or ADHD. We used an eyetracking battery to measure both exogenous and endogenous control of visual attention.

Results: Infants with NF1 demonstrated intact social orienting, but slower development of endogenous visual foraging. This slower development presented as prolonged engagement with a salient stimulus in a static display relative to typically developing infants. In terms of exogenous attention shifting, NF1 infants showed faster saccadic reaction times than typical likelihood infants. However, the NF1 group demonstrated a slower developmental improvement from 5 to 14 months of age. Individual differences in foraging and saccade times were concurrently related to visual reception abilities within the full infant cohort (NF1, typical likelihood and those with a family history of ASD/ADHD).

Conclusions: Our results provide preliminary evidence that alterations in saccadic reaction time and visual foraging may contribute to learning difficulties in infants with NF1.

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来源期刊

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders 医学-临床神经学

CiteScore

7.60

自引率

4.10%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders is an open access journal that integrates current, cutting-edge research across a number of disciplines, including neurobiology, genetics, cognitive neuroscience, psychiatry and psychology. The journal’s primary focus is on the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism, fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, Turner Syndrome, 22q Deletion Syndrome, Prader-Willi and Angelman Syndrome, Williams syndrome, lysosomal storage diseases, dyslexia, specific language impairment and fetal alcohol syndrome. With the discovery of specific genes underlying neurodevelopmental syndromes, the emergence of powerful tools for studying neural circuitry, and the development of new approaches for exploring molecular mechanisms, interdisciplinary research on the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders is now increasingly common. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders provides a unique venue for researchers interested in comparing and contrasting mechanisms and characteristics related to the pathogenesis of the full range of neurodevelopmental disorders, sharpening our understanding of the etiology and relevant phenotypes of each condition.