# Neurobehavioral Determinants of Social Communication and Language Impairments in at - Risk Infants

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · 2022 · $142,312

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Attenuation of social-communication and language impairments is possible with very early identification and
intervention in infancy. Yet reliable detection of these impairments remains limited to the toddler years, and little
is known about their pathogenesis in the neonatal period. Identification of the earliest neural and behavioral
determinants of social communication and language hinges on prospective, longitudinal study of at-risk infants
from birth. The prevalence of social-communication and language impairments, as well as autism spectrum
disorder (ASD), for preterm infants (HR-PT) and infant siblings of children with ASD (HR-SIB) greatly exceeds
that of the general population. Yet the key mechanistic pathways underlying deficits in social communication and
language remain largely unknown. Language emerges in the context of rich social interactions, which begin in
the neonatal period, and are made possible by a set of necessary hierarchical conditions (collectively called
neonatal neurobehavior). This hierarchy begins with the most basic task of the newborn–autonomic and
physiologic stability, and advances to controlled motor movements, adaptive self-soothing strategies, sustained
periods of calm alertness, and attention to people and objects. Once this last step is achieved, neonates are
primed and ready for social attention and interaction. We hypothesize that disruption at any point in the
neurobehavioral hierarchy will prevent the infant from establishing readiness for social interaction, resulting in
altered early social experiences, diminished frequency and quality of contingent social interactions, and reduced
social and language learning opportunities. The current study will directly test the hypothesis that disrupted
neurobehavioral development (e.g., autonomic dysregulation, poor motor organization, decreased self-soothing,
and abnormal attention) during the critical neurodevelopmental period between birth and 4 months will have
downstream, negative consequences on the development of social communication and language. Aim 1 will
characterize trajectories of neurobehavioral and social-communication development across low-risk, HR-PT, and
HR-SIB infants. Aim 2 will identify neurobehavioral determinants of the emergence of social-communication skills
and the acquisition of language. Neonatal neurobehavior will be measured longitudinally from 1-4 months, social
communication will be measured at 5 time points from 9 months to 2 years, and language outcome will be
measured at 24 months. Critically, this study will extend early detection research down to the first month of life,
when neurological organization is undergoing significant transformation. The innovative use of clinical measures
in the context of dense, longitudinal sampling across two groups of at-risk infants will identify specific,
mechanistic links between early neurobehavioral development and the emergence of social-communication and
language impairments.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10304935
- **Project number:** 5R21DC017252-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jessica Bradshaw
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $142,312
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-12-01 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10304935

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10304935, Neurobehavioral Determinants of Social Communication and Language Impairments in at - Risk Infants (5R21DC017252-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10304935. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*