Dopaminergic variants in siblings at high risk for autism: Associations with initiating joint attention.
Devon N Gangi, Daniel S Messinger, Eden R Martin and 1 others
PMID 26990357WHAT IT FOUND
Among infant siblings at high risk for autism, dopamine genotypes linked to less efficient functioning were associated with lower initiating joint attention.
Among low-risk siblings, the same genotypes were associated with higher joint attention.
Key findings
01High-risk siblings showed lower levels of initiating joint attention than low-risk siblings across 8 to 12 months.
02The 7-repeat variant interacted with familial risk status: high-risk siblings with the variant had lower joint attention than low-risk siblings with the variant, while without the variant groups did not differ.
03A combined dopamine risk score was associated with lower joint attention in high-risk siblings and higher joint attention in low-risk siblings.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 12 high-risk siblings were later diagnosed with autism, too few to analyse separately. The study observed associations, so it cannot show that dopamine variants caused the joint attention differences. The combined dopamine score related to joint attention in opposite directions in high-risk and low-risk siblings, so the finding does not apply uniformly.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these results as a genetic test for autism risk or as proof that dopamine variants cause joint attention problems. The study was observational, the sample was small, and the combined dopamine score related to joint attention in opposite directions in high-risk and low-risk siblings.