eLife · 21 September 2026 · From issue 40
Infants at high and low likelihood for autism show different EEG developmental trajectories in speech tracking and statistical learning
Infants with higher autism likelihood tracked speech sounds less well than other infants.
Michel Godel, Ana Fló et al.
Babies with a higher chance of autism had a harder time following the beat of syllables in speech. This weaker tracking linked to how well they could talk at 20 months. These babies also reacted less to new words in a memory test. Hearing many different voices seemed to bother them less than it bothered lower chance babies.
The number of brain scans tracked over time in babies with higher and lower autism likelihood.
44 infants studied over time, lab measures only, no diagnosis yet.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 22 September 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (eLife). Read the source
This screen checks process signals. It does not tell you the findings are true.