Atypicalities in tactile processing are reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but it remains unknown if they precede and associate with the traits of these disorders emerging in childhood. We investigated behavioural and neural markers of tactile sensory processing in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD and/or ADHD compared to infants at typical likelihood of the disorders. Further, we assessed the specificity of associations between infant markers and later ASD or ADHD traits. Ninety-one 10-month-old infants participated in the study (n = 44 infants at elevated likelihood of ASD; n = 20 infants at elevated likelihood of ADHD; n = 9 infants at elevated likelihood of ASD and ADHD; n = 18 infants at typical likelihood of the disorders). Behavioural and EEG responses to pairs of tactile stimuli were experimentally recorded and concurrent parental reports of tactile responsiveness were collected. ASD and ADHD traits were measured at 24 months through standardized assessment (ADOS-2) and parental report (ECBQ), respectively. There was no effect of infants’ likelihood status on behavioural markers of tactile sensory processing. Conversely, increased ASD likelihood associated with reduced neural repetition suppression to tactile input. Reduced neural repetition suppression at 10 months significantly predicted ASD (but not ADHD) traits at 24 months across the entire sample. Elevated tactile sensory seeking at 10 months moderated the relationship between early reduced neural repetition suppression and later ASD traits. Reduced tactile neural repetition suppression is an early marker of later ASD traits in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD or ADHD, suggesting that a common pathway to later ASD traits exists despite different familial backgrounds. Elevated tactile sensory seeking may act as a protective factor, mitigating the relationship between early tactile neural repetition suppression and later ASD traits.

中文翻译：

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自闭症谱系障碍和/或注意力缺陷多动障碍可能性升高的婴儿触觉感觉处理的行为和神经标志物

在自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 和注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD) 中报告了触觉处理的非典型性，但它们是否先于并与这些在儿童时期出现的疾病的特征相关仍然未知。我们研究了与具有典型疾病可能性的婴儿相比，患有 ASD 和/或 ADHD 的婴儿的触觉感觉加工的行为和神经标志物。此外，我们评估了婴儿标志物与后来的 ASD 或 ADHD 特征之间关联的特异性。91 名 10 个月大的婴儿参与了研究（n = 44 名婴儿患 ASD 的可能性增加；n = 20 名婴儿患 ADHD 的可能性增加；n = 9 名婴儿患 ASD 和 ADHD 的可能性增加；n = 18 名婴儿在疾病的典型可能性）。实验记录了对触觉刺激对的行为和脑电图反应，并收集了父母对触觉反应的同时报告。分别通过标准化评估 (ADOS-2) 和父母报告 (ECBQ) 在 24 个月时测量 ASD 和 ADHD 特征。婴儿的可能性状态对触觉感觉处理的行为标记没有影响。相反，增加的 ASD 可能性与减少对触觉输入的神经重复抑制有关。10 个月时神经重复抑制的减少显着预测了整个样本在 24 个月时的 ASD（但不是 ADHD）特征。10 个月时提高的触觉感官寻求缓和了早期减少的神经重复抑制与后期 ASD 特征之间的关系。减少的触觉神经重复抑制是 ASD 或 ADHD 可能性升高的婴儿晚期 ASD 特征的早期标志，这表明尽管有不同的家庭背景，但存在通往晚期 ASD 特征的共同途径。升高的触觉感觉寻求可能充当保护因素，减轻早期触觉神经重复抑制与后期 ASD 特征之间的关系。