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The eyes of another can tell a story: fright, anger, displeasure,
interest, curiosity. The ease with which most people can read
others from a simple eye-to-eye glance is astounding, for there
are few systems of visual perception and cognition as specialized
and complex. To a child with autism, however, the story can
be quite different. Our recent work examines relationship between
gaze processing and social dysfunction in infants and toddlers
with autism. |
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For a long time it has been known that the face is accorded
a special status in typical development so much so that a newborn
prefers looking at faces rather than other objects and within
several months becomes skills in recognizing and categorizing
faces. In children with autism however, the development of face
processing might follow a different course. Several projects
in our lab examine differences in face scanning and recognition
between children with autism and their unaffected peers. |
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Social dysfunction is a defining characteristic of autism. Elementary
ability to relate to others is apparent within the first hours
of life, and yet the set of skills necessary to navigate complex
social landscape continues to develop throughout childhood and
adolescence. Our behavioral studies are focused on the earliest
signs of social difficulties in the first year of life that
involve ability to engage in dyadic social exchanges as well
as the ability to communicate with others using eye contact,
affect, gestures, and vocalizations. |
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Despite the fact that symptoms of autism typically manifest
by the second birthday, diagnosis and treatment are often delayed
for months if not years. However, by identifying the disorder
and initiating treatment early we might be able to capitalize
on increased brain plasticity during the first years of life
and improve the overall outcomes. Work in our lab facilitates
directly early symptom detection and identification of predictors
of outcome by. Our eye-tracking and behavioral studies on younger
siblings of children with autism aim directly at identifying
markers of the disorder in the first year of life. |
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