Descrizione del progetto
EEG per il rilevamento precoce di ASD nei neonati
La diagnosi precoce dei disturbi dello spettro autistico (ASD, Autism-Spectrum Disorders) è fondamentale per un intervento efficace. Gli studi dimostrano che i neonati con ASD hanno preferenze notevolmente diverse rispetto a determinati stimoli sociali. Un indice di elaborazione facciale basato sull’EEG potrebbe essere utilizzato come biomarcatore per la previsione, ma la sua misurazione richiede che l’EEG del bambino sia registrato in condizioni di laboratorio. Il progetto NeuroSoNew, finanziato dall’UE, mira a progettare un sistema EEG portatile, wireless per test facili, veloci e automatici sui neonati attraverso una piattaforma digitale programmabile a bassissima potenza e un dispositivo indossabile adattato ai neonati. Ciò consentirà diagnosi facili e precoci di ASD e contribuirà agli studi sulle funzioni percettive e cognitive nei neonati.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantIstituzione ospitante
38122 Trento
Italia