When a neurotypical child looks at a face, the brain's electrical response to that face becomes more specialized and distinct as the child gets older. A Yale-led study reports that this sharpening does not appear the same way in autistic children.
The research, published in Nature Mental Health on June 29, analyzed high-density EEG recordings from 399 autistic and neurotypical children in a case-control observational study. The finding is a difference in developmental trajectory, not a defect, and the study does not explain why the difference occurs or what it predicts for any individual child.
