Gene That Influences Receptive Joint Attention in Chimpanzees Gives Insight into Autism

5th February, 2014

Attention, Autism, Comparative Biology, News of the Week, OT, School Psych, SLP

[Source: Science Daily]

Following another’s gaze or looking in the direction someone is pointing, two examples of receptive joint attention, is significantly heritable according to new study results from researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University. Determining such communicative cues are significantly heritable means variation in this ability has a genetic basis, which led the researchers to the vasopressin receptor gene, known for its role in social bonding.

The study results, which are published in Scientific Reports, give researchers insight into the biology of disorders in which receptive joint attention is compromised, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and may ultimately lead to new diagnosis and treatment strategies.
According to Yerkes researchers Larry Young, PhD, and Bill Hopkins, PhD, co-authors of the study, receptive joint attention is important for developing complex cognitive processes, including language and theory of mind, and poor joint attention abilities may be a core feature in children with or at risk of developing ASD.
Young is division chief of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders at Yerkes, director of the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience (CTSN) at Emory and William P. Timmie Professor in the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Yerkes researcher Hopkins is also a core faculty member in the Neuroscience Institute of Georgia State University and newly named science director of the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary.
Read the Rest of this Article on Science Daily.com

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