Descripción del proyecto
Electroencefalogramas para la detección precoz de trastornos de espectro autista en lactantes
El diagnóstico precoz de los trastornos del espectro autista (TEA) resulta crucial para la eficacia de la intervención. Los estudios muestran que los recién nacidos con TEA presentan respuestas notablemente diferentes a determinados estímulos sociales. Se podría utilizar un índice de procesamiento facial basado en electroencefalogramas (EEG) como biomarcador para la predicción, pero su medición requiere que el EEG del lactante se registre en un entorno de laboratorio. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos NeuroSoNew tiene por objeto diseñar un sistema de EEG portátil e inalámbrico para realizar pruebas de manera rápida, sencilla y automática a recién nacidos mediante una plataforma digital programable de potencia ultra baja y un dispositivo vestible adaptado a los neonatos. Esto permitirá diagnosticar el TEA de forma precoz y sencilla, y ayudará a los estudios sobre las funciones perceptivas y cognitivas en los recién nacidos.
Objetivo
Predispositions to preferentially orient towards cues associated with social partners, such as face-like stimuli or biological and animate motion, appear to guide human social behavior from the onset of life and are typically impaired in children with autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). An early detector of social predispositions and their impairment in newborns might provide a valuable biomarker for ASD, an indicator of utmost relevance since infants with ASD greatly benefit from early behavioral intervention. This proposal builds on a study performed within my ERC grant in which, by designing an innovative oscillatory visual presentation of face-like patterns and perceptually equivalent controls, we identified an EEG-based index of face processing, present in each newborn tested and obtainable with less than 2 minutes of newborn’s visual attention. However, recording newborn’s EEG is currently possible only in laboratory settings, as no fully portable EEG system adapted for newborns exists in the market. The goal of this proposal is to design a portable, wireless EEG-based device that allows easy, rapid and automatic testing of face processing in newborns in any context, including their homes. This device is ground-breaking because it will combine the efficacy of our innovative experimental paradigm tailored to newborn’s restricted visual attention with a portable, low-power, wireless EEG device based on dry electrodes and an automatic algorithm that will extract on-line the EEG-based index of face processing. Its realization will enable the development of an early, objective and easy-to-test EEG-based biomarker on newborns at risk, potentially opening the way to large-scale screening protocols. Given the flexibility of the paradigm with respect to the content of the visual stimulation, this method might be used for research purposes to explore the neural bases of other perceptual and cognitive functions in newborns.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantInstitución de acogida
38122 Trento
Italia