Baby’s Gaze Could Signal Autism Risk, Study Finds

A baby’s gaze could carry the first signs of autism, according to a new study that suggests the developmental disorder disrupts the desire for eye contact.

Atlanta researchers used eye-tracking technology to study how babies respond to social cues between birth and the age of 3, and found that infants later diagnosed with autism paid less attention to the eyes of others.

“These results reveal that there are measurable and identifiable differences present already before six months,” study author Ami Klin, director of the Atlanta-based Marcus Autism Center, said in a statement adding that the findings “have the potential to dramatically shift the possibilities for future strategies of early intervention.”

The study was published today in the journal Nature.

Autism Bankrupts Families, Emotionally and Financially

Autism is currently diagnosed based on careful observation of a child’s behavior, social skills and ability to communicate. But researchers have long been looking for subtler signs with hopes of intervening sooner.

“By following these babies from birth, and intensively within the first six months, we were able to collect large amounts of data long before overt symptoms are typically seen,” study lead author Warren Jones, director of research for the Marcus Autism Center, said in a statement.

But Jones cautioned that parents should not go looking for such subtle signs or be discouraged if their babies sometimes avoid eye contact.

“We used very specialized technology to measure developmental differences, accruing over time, in the way that infants watched very specific scenes of social interaction,” he said. “To be sure, parents should not expect that this is something they could see without the aid of technology.”

On top of raising the possibility of earlier detection, the study could hint at subtle interactions between the complex genetics of autism, brain development and eye gaze, according to Jones.

“Our next step will be to expand these studies with more children, and to combine our eye-tracking measures with measures of gene expression and brain growth,” he said.

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Exercise During Pregnancy Can Boost Your Baby’s Brain

For women who are pregnant, as little as 20 minutes of exercise three times per week can advance a newborn’s brain activity, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Montreal presented these findings at the Neuroscience 2013 conference in San Diego on Sunday, providing moms-to-be with even more reasons to make exercise a priority.

In their study, the researchers randomly assigned 60 women to two groups: women who were provided with an exercise regimen, and those who were not. The women kept daily logs of exercise, and pedometers and accelerometers allowed researchers to keep track of the women’s level of activity. Once the babies were born, the researchers recorded their brain activity levels at 8 to 12 days of life. They found that the babies of mothers who exercised had brains that were more fully developed.

Current recommendations by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists urge moderate exercise, about 30 minutes almost daily, during pregnancy. The guidelines are based on findings that moderate exercise can improve back aches, prevent pregnancy-associated diabetes and improve sleep.

This paper is the first of its kind to study the impact of exercise on the newborn, said study researcher Élise Labonté-LeMoyne of the University of Montreal.

“We measured directly the brain activity,” Labonté-LeMoyne said. “So it’s not a behavioral test or neuropsychologic test, it’s really specifically the brain that we were looking at.” She added that the measurement of electrical brain activity is “the most indicative way to measure a newborn’s cognitive status.”

Women’s health experts not involved with the research said it provides yet another important reason for pregnant women to stay active.

“We know that aerobic exercise has an immediate result of increasing mitochondrial activity in the brain, but this study shows that this effect may in fact ‘cross the placenta’ and benefit the fetal brain as well,” said ABC News senior medical contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who is also a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist. “More studies with larger numbers are needed and we also need to follow these fetuses through early life to see if these effects result in higher aptitude or accelerated development down the road.”

“This is yet another study showing the importance of staying active in pregnancy,” said ABC News medical contributor Dr. Jacques Moritz, a board-certified ObGyn at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York. “And now another reason to exercise would be possibly to even make your baby smarter.”

Doctor’s Take:

In decades past, the conventional wisdom has been that resting during pregnancy was important for the baby’s safety. This, unfortunately, is a misconception that is occasionally still seen today. Now, however, we know that regular exercise can be beneficial to women’s health in various ways — including improvements in mood and energy during pregnancy. With this new study, there is even stronger incentive to exercise for your baby’s health, too.

Before engaging in strenuous physical activity during pregnancy, or if you have a complicated pregnancy, talk to your doctor first. But setting daily goals for 30 minutes of exercise is an important and great start to your pregnancy and to your baby’s life.

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