耶鲁大学医学院的一项新研究表明，自闭症儿童的大脑处理人脸的方式与神经典型儿童存在显著差异，且这种差异可能比科学家此前认为的更早出现 1。该成果发表于2026年7月期的《自然·心理健康》第4卷第7期，题为《Decoding the temporal dynamics of face-specific neural representations in autism》，有望为自闭症的早期诊断和支持干预提供新的生物标志物依据 1。
研究样本涉及约400名自闭症儿童及神经典型儿童，数据来自“临床试验自闭症生物标志物联盟”（ABC-CT） 1。团队使用128个电极记录全头皮脑电信号，结合机器学习分析发现，自闭症儿童在观看人脸时的神经活动区分度较低 1。关键发现显示，神经典型儿童的面部处理脑反应随年龄增长变得更特化，而自闭症儿童未呈现此发展轨迹 1。此外，差异出现的时间点早于传统的N170电位（通常在人看到面孔后约170毫秒），表明问题始于视觉处理的更早期阶段 1。该项研究的第一作者为休斯顿大学助理教授Jason Griffin博士，通讯作者包括耶鲁大学哈里斯教授James McPartland博士 1。
A new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine indicates that the brains of autistic children process human faces in a significantly different manner compared to neurotypical children, with these divergences emerging earlier than previously recognized 1. Published in Nature Mental Health, the findings suggest that facial recognition-related brain signals in autistic children do not specialize with age to the same degree as those in typically developing peers 1. This research offers potential insights into identifying autism biomarkers for earlier diagnosis and support interventions 1.
The investigation analyzed high-density electroencephalography (EEG) data collected from approximately 400 autistic and neurotypical children sourced from the Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT) 1. By utilizing 128 electrodes to record full-scalp neural activity combined with machine learning techniques, the team discovered that the distinction in neural responses when viewing faces was lower among autistic children 1. A critical observation was that while face-processing brain reactions in neurotypical children became more specialized as they aged, autistic children did not follow this developmental trajectory 1.
Furthermore, the study identified that these processing differences occur prior to the traditional N170 event-related potential, which typically appears about 170 milliseconds after a person sees a face 1. This timing suggests that the underlying mechanisms begin in the earlier stages of visual processing rather than later cognitive phases 1. The paper, titled "Decoding the temporal dynamics of face-specific neural representations in autism," appeared in the July 2026 issue of Nature Mental Health (Volume 4, Issue 7) 1. Jason Griffin, an assistant professor at the University of Houston, served as the first author, while James McPartland, the Harris Professor at Yale University, was among the corresponding authors 1.
评论
还没有评论，欢迎留下第一条。