Neonatal Transitions in Social Behavior and Their Implications for Autism
Abstract
Within the context of early infant–caregiver interaction, we review a series of pivotal transitions
that occur within the first 6 months of typical infancy, with emphasis on behavior and brain
mechanisms involved in preferential orientation towards, and interaction with, other people. Our
goal in reviewing these transitions is to better understand how they may lay a necessary and/or
sufficient groundwork for subsequent phases of development, and also to understand how the
breakdown thereof, when development is atypical and those transitions become derailed, may
instead yield disability. We review these developmental processes in light of recent studies
documenting disruptions to early-emerging brain and behavior mechanisms in infants later
diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, shedding light on the brain–behavior pathogenesis of
autism.