Brain and Cognitive Development in Infants at High Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sarah Paterson

Temple University

Dr. Paterson will present data from a multi-site longitudinal study of 3- to 24- month old infant siblings at high risk for autism spectrum disorder: The Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS).  She will introduce the infant sibling approach and then discuss findings from a number of brain imaging and behavioral studies from the network, including her recent work on temperament differences, that highlight the importance of a developmental approach and of studying these infants early in development. The impact of these findings for early detection and intervention will also be discussed.  

 

Sarah Paterson is a Research Scientist in the Department of Psychology at Temple University. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology in 2000 under the supervision of Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, where she studied language and number understanding in infants and adults with Williams syndrome and with Down syndrome. Her dissertation work was published in Science and won the Butterworth Dissertation Award from the International Society on Infant Studies. Her research interests are in developmental cognitive neuroscience and in particular in the developmental trajectories of cognition, language, and the brain in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. 

 

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