Biology subjects

Scerif, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Scerif, G..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Topographical differences during motion processing in autistic and dyslexic children

Atypical motion processing has been reported in multiple developmental conditions, including autism and dyslexia, and taken as support for a general developmental vulnerability in the dorsal stream. Yet by uncovering dynamically unfolding processes, electroencephalography can determine the extent to which motion processing signatures are shared or distinct across different developmental conditions. Here we used pre-registered topographical analyses across the whole high-density electrode array to determine, for the first time, whether autistic and dyslexic children activate the same or distinct brain pathways as typically developing children, when completing two motion processing tasks. Participants were 29 autistic, 44 dyslexic and 57 typically developing children aged 6 to 14 years. Group differences in overall brain response strength were found in both tasks. Topographical activity differed in both autistic and dyslexic children compared to typically developing children (but not between autistic and dyslexic children) in a motion coherence task between 456 - 560 ms. However, group differences in a direction integration task (with no incoherent motion) depended on stimulus difficulty and time window (434 - 500 ms and 538 - 638 ms), with different patterns of divergence from typical development in autism and dyslexia. These results suggest that there are differences in the brain networks used to accomplish motion processing tasks in both autistic and dyslexic children, and demonstrate the utility of a topographical approach for detecting group differences in neural mechanisms, which can be missed by univariate approaches. Key pointsO_LIWe use an electrical neuroimaging approach to provide new insights into the neural mechanisms of motion processing in autism and dyslexia C_LIO_LIAutistic and dyslexic children both differed from typically developing children in the strength and topography of their brain responses. C_LIO_LIMotion processing activates atypical brain networks in both autistic and dyslexic children. C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Uncovering the mechanisms of real-world attentional control over the course of primary education

Schooling may shape childrens abilities to control their attention, but it is unclear if this impact extends from control over visual objects to encompass multisensory objects, which are more typical of everyday environments. We compared children across three primary school grades ([country] 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade) on their performance on a game-like audio-visual attentional control task, while recording their EEG. Behavioral markers of visual attentional control were present from 3rd grade (after 2 years of schooling), whereas multisensory attentional control was not detected in any group. However, multivariate whole-brain EEG analyses ( electrical neuroimaging) revealed stable patterns of brain activity that indexed both types of attentional control - visual control in all groups, and multisensory attentional control from 3rd grade onwards. Multivariate EEG approaches can uncover otherwise undetectable mechanisms of attentional control over visual and multisensory objects and characterize how they differ at different educational stages. Lay AbstractWe measured how visual and audiovisual distractors differ in capturing the attention of 1st- to 5th-graders while recording the childrens brain activity. Brain activity results showed that all children were sensitive to visual distraction, and from 3rd grade onwards, children were also sensitive to audiovisual distraction. These results deepen our understanding of how school children control their attention in everyday environments, which are made up of information that stimulates multiple senses at a time.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

The development of attentional control mechanisms in multisensory environments

Outside the laboratory, people need to pay attention to relevant objects that are typically multisensory, but it remains poorly understood how the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms develop. We investigated when adult-like mechanisms controlling ones attentional selection of visual and multisensory objects emerge across childhood. Five-, 7-, and 9-year-olds were compared with adults in their performance on a computer game-like multisensory spatial cueing task, while 129-channel EEG was simultaneously recorded. Markers of attentional control were behavioural spatial cueing effects and the N2pc ERP component (analysed traditionally and using a multivariate electrical neuroimaging framework). In behaviour, adult-like visual attentional control was present from age 7 onwards, whereas multisensory control was absent in all children groups. In EEG, multivariate analyses of the activity over the N2pc time-window revealed stable brain activity patterns in children. Adult-like visual-attentional control EEG patterns were present age 7 onwards, while multisensory control activity patterns were found in 9-year-olds (albeit behavioural measures showed no effects). By combining rigorous yet naturalistic paradigms with multivariate signal analyses, we demonstrated that visual attentional control seems to reach an adult-like state at ~7 years, before adult-like multisensory control, emerging at ~9 years. These results enrich our understanding of how attention in naturalistic settings develops. HighlightsO_LIBy age 7, children showed adult-like task-set contingent attentional capture in behaviour C_LIO_LIChildrens behavioural data did not show evidence for attentional enhancement for multisensory objects, but 9-year-olds EEG topographic patterns elicited by multisensory vs. purely visual distractors differed reliably C_LIO_LITraditional visual attentional event-related potential (ERP) analyses, such as the N2pc, did not detect attentional enhancement for multisensory objects in adults, and visual or multisensory attention in children C_LIO_LIMultivariate analyses of ERPs, such as electrical neuroimaging, are more sensitive to the change of attentional control processes over development C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Gene functional networks and autism spectrum characteristics in young people with intellectual disability

BackgroundGenes associated with Intellectual disability (ID) can be grouped into networks according to gene function. This study asked whether individuals with ID show differences in autism spectrum characteristics (ASC), depending on the functional network membership of their rare, pathogenic de novo genetic variants. MethodsChildren and young people with ID of known genetic origin were allocated to two broad functional network groups: synaptic physiology (n=29) or chromatin regulation (n=23). We applied principle components analysis to the Social Responsiveness Scale to map the structure of ASC in this population, and identified three components - Inflexibility, Social Understanding and Social Motivation. We then used Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to test the best fitting models for predicting ASC components, including demographic factors (age, gender), non-ASC behavioural factors (global adaptive function, anxiety, hyperactivity, inattention) and gene functional networks. ResultsWe found that, when other factors are accounted for, the chromatin regulation group showed higher levels of Inflexibility. We also observed contrasting predictors of ASC within each network group. Within the chromatin regulation group, Social Understanding was associated with inattention, and Social Motivation was predicted by hyperactivity. Within the synaptic group, Social Understanding was associated with hyperactivity, and Social Motivation was linked to anxiety. ConclusionWe report that gene functional networks can predict Inflexibility, but not other ASC dimensions. Contrasting behavioural associations within each group suggests network-specific developmental pathways from genomic variation to autism. Simple classification of neurodevelopmental disorder genes as high risk or low risk for autism is unlikely to be valid or useful.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Whole-brain white matter organization, intelligence, and educational attainment

General cognitive ability, sometimes referred to as intelligence, is associated with educational attainment throughout childhood. Most studies that have explored the neural correlates of intelligence in childhood focus on individual brain regions. This analytical approach is designed to identify restricted sets of voxels that overlap across participants. By contrast, we explored the relationship between white matter connectome organization, intelligence, and education. In both a sample of typically-developing children (N=63) and a sample of struggling learners (N=139), the white matter connectome efficiency was strongly associated with intelligence and educational attainment. Further, intelligence mediated the relationship between connectome efficiency and educational attainment. In contrast, a canonical voxel-wise analysis failed to identify any significant relationships. The results emphasize the importance of distributed brain network properties for cognitive or educational ability in childhood. Our findings are interpreted in the context of a developmental theory, which emphasizes the interaction between different subsystems over developmental time.

neuroscience↗