Terje Falck‐ytter
Biographic Data
| ID | 3773998 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Terje Falck‐ytter |
| GIVEN NAMES | Terje |
| FAMILY NAME | Falck‐ytter |
| SIGNATURE | YTTER T F |
| AFFILIATIONS | Uppsala University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9714-0197 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Clinical Heterogeneity Among Preschoolers Recruited as Infants Due to Elevated Likelihood of Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and developmental language disorder (DLD) are neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) that share etiological factors and frequently co‐occur. Despite this, they have rarely been studied together—particularly in relation to functional outcomes. In this study, we investigate the association between the developmental pattern of sustained visual attention in infancy and num…
The stability of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule‐2 in children aged 14–36 months with elevated likelihood for autism
BACKGROUND: This study investigated the stability of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) classifications in a cohort of 304 siblings at elevated likelihood for autism (EL-siblings). METHODS: ADOS-2 assessments were conducted at 14, 24 and 36 months, with Clinical Best Estimate (CBE) autism diagnoses determined at 36 months. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that while some children have stable ADOS-2 classifications from …
Parent‐child interaction at age 5 months
BACKGROUND: Characteristics of parent-child interaction (PCI) early in life have been associated with later development in the child. Twin studies can help to disentangle child contributions to parent-child interaction, for example, by assessing the influence of the child's genetics on his/her social environment, which includes parental behaviour. METHODS: Infant twins from a community sample [354 monozygotic (MZ), 268 same-sex dizygotic (DZ)] we…
Different sensory dimensions in infancy are associated with separable etiological influences and with autistic traits in toddlerhood
BACKGROUND: Infants vary significantly in the way they process and respond to sensory stimuli, and altered sensory processing has been reported among infants later diagnosed with autism. Previous work with adolescents and adults suggests that variability in sensory processing may have a strong genetic basis. Yet, little is known about the etiological factors influencing sensory differences in infancy, when brain circuits supporting social and non…
Genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in visual attention and oculomotor control in early infancy
Infants differ in their level of eye movement control, which at the extreme could be linked to autism. We assessed eye movements in 450 twins (225 pairs, 57% monozygotic, 46% female, aged 5–6 months) using the gap-overlap eye-tracking task. Shorter latency in the gap condition was associated with having more parent-rated autistic traits at 2 years. Latency across the task's three conditions was primarily explained by one highly heritable latent f…
Sustained looking at faces at 5 months of age is associated with socio‐communicative skills in the second year of life
Efficiently processing information from faces in infancy is foundational for nonverbal communication. We studied individual differences in 5‐month‐old infants' ( N = 517) sustained attention to faces and preference for emotional faces. We assessed the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to individual differences in these gaze behaviors, and the association between these traits and other concurrent and later phenotypes. We found a…
Preferential looking to eyes versus mouth in early infancy
BACKGROUND: From birth, infants orient preferentially to faces, and when looking at the face, they attend primarily to eyes and mouth. These areas convey different types of information, and earlier research suggests that genetic factors influence the preference for one or the other in young children. METHODS: In a sample of 535 5-month-old infant twins, we assessed eye (relative to mouth) preference in early infancy, i.e., before neural systems f…
Infants’ looking preferences for social versus non-social objects reflect genetic variation
To what extent do individual differences in infants’ early preference for faces versus non-facial objects reflect genetic and environmental factors? Here in a sample of 536 5-month-old same-sex twins, we assessed attention to faces using eye tracking in two ways: initial orienting to faces at the start of the trial (thought to reflect subcortical processing) and sustained face preference throughout the trial (thought to reflect emerging attention…
Larger pupil dilation to nonsocial sounds in infants with subsequent autism diagnosis
BACKGROUND: Studies of infants with an elevated likelihood of autism spectrum disorder can identify basic developmental processes that are associated with subsequently emerging clinical symptoms. Atypical responsiveness to sounds in infancy is such a potential early marker of autism. Here, we used pupillometry to quantify reactivity to social and nonsocial sounds in infants with a subsequent diagnosis. Previous research suggest that pupil dilatio…
Pupil size and pupillary light reflex in early infancy
BACKGROUND: Measures based on pupillometry, such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) and baseline pupil size, reflect physiological responses linked to specific neural circuits that have been implicated as atypical in some psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. METHODS: We investigated the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the baseline pupil size and the PLR in 510 infant twins assessed at 5 months of age (281 monozygot…
Development of the pupillary light reflex from 9 to 24 months
Background Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable, the mechanisms through which genes contribute to symptom emergence remain unclear. Investigating candidate intermediate phenotypes such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) prospectively from early in development could bridge genotype and behavioural phenotype. Methods Using eye tracking, we longitudinally measured the PLR at 9, 14 and 24 months in a sample of infants ( N = 264) enri…
Volitional eye movement control and ADHD traits
BACKGROUND: Top-down volitional command of eye movements may serve as a candidate endophenotype of ADHD, an important function underlying goal-directed action in everyday life. In this twin study, we examined the relation between performance on a response inhibition eye-tracking paradigm and parent-rated ADHD traits in a population-based twin sample. We hypothesized that altered eye movement control is associated with the severity of ADHD traits …
The Developmental Origins of Gaze‐Following in Human Infants
During the first year of life, infants develop the capacity to follow the gaze of others. This behavior allows sharing attention and facilitates language acquisition and cognitive development. This article reviews studies that investigated gaze‐following before 12 months of age in typically developing infants and discusses current theoretical perspectives on early GF. Recent research has revealed that early GF is highly dependent on situational c…
Action type and goal type modulate goal-directed gaze shifts in 14-month-old infants
Ten- and 14-month-old infants' gaze was recorded as the infants observed videos of different hand actions directed toward multiple goals. Infants observed an actor who (a) reached for objects and displaced them, (b) reached for objects and placed them inside containers, or (c) moved his fisted hand. Fourteen-month-olds, but not 10-month-olds, anticipated the goal of reaching actions but tracked all the other actions reactively. Fourteen-month-old…
Action type and goal type modulate goal-directed gaze shifts in 14-month-old infants
Ten- and 14-month-old infants' gaze was recorded as the infants observed videos of different hand actions directed toward multiple goals. Infants observed an actor who (a) reached for objects and displaced them, (b) reached for objects and placed them inside containers, or (c) moved his fisted hand. Fourteen-month-olds, but not 10-month-olds, anticipated the goal of reaching actions but tracked all the other actions reactively. Fourteen-month-old…
Infants’ looking preferences for social versus non-social objects reflect genetic variation
To what extent do individual differences in infants’ early preference for faces versus non-facial objects reflect genetic and environmental factors? Here in a sample of 536 5-month-old same-sex twins, we assessed attention to faces using eye tracking in two ways: initial orienting to faces at the start of the trial (thought to reflect subcortical processing) and sustained face preference throughout the trial (thought to reflect emerging attention…
Action type and goal type modulate goal-directed gaze shifts in 14-month-old infants
Ten- and 14-month-old infants' gaze was recorded as the infants observed videos of different hand actions directed toward multiple goals. Infants observed an actor who (a) reached for objects and displaced them, (b) reached for objects and placed them inside containers, or (c) moved his fisted hand. Fourteen-month-olds, but not 10-month-olds, anticipated the goal of reaching actions but tracked all the other actions reactively. Fourteen-month-old…
The Developmental Origins of Gaze‐Following in Human Infants
During the first year of life, infants develop the capacity to follow the gaze of others. This behavior allows sharing attention and facilitates language acquisition and cognitive development. This article reviews studies that investigated gaze‐following before 12 months of age in typically developing infants and discusses current theoretical perspectives on early GF. Recent research has revealed that early GF is highly dependent on situational c…
Volitional eye movement control and ADHD traits
BACKGROUND: Top-down volitional command of eye movements may serve as a candidate endophenotype of ADHD, an important function underlying goal-directed action in everyday life. In this twin study, we examined the relation between performance on a response inhibition eye-tracking paradigm and parent-rated ADHD traits in a population-based twin sample. We hypothesized that altered eye movement control is associated with the severity of ADHD traits …
Development of the pupillary light reflex from 9 to 24 months
Background Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable, the mechanisms through which genes contribute to symptom emergence remain unclear. Investigating candidate intermediate phenotypes such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) prospectively from early in development could bridge genotype and behavioural phenotype. Methods Using eye tracking, we longitudinally measured the PLR at 9, 14 and 24 months in a sample of infants ( N = 264) enri…
Larger pupil dilation to nonsocial sounds in infants with subsequent autism diagnosis
BACKGROUND: Studies of infants with an elevated likelihood of autism spectrum disorder can identify basic developmental processes that are associated with subsequently emerging clinical symptoms. Atypical responsiveness to sounds in infancy is such a potential early marker of autism. Here, we used pupillometry to quantify reactivity to social and nonsocial sounds in infants with a subsequent diagnosis. Previous research suggest that pupil dilatio…
Pupil size and pupillary light reflex in early infancy
BACKGROUND: Measures based on pupillometry, such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) and baseline pupil size, reflect physiological responses linked to specific neural circuits that have been implicated as atypical in some psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. METHODS: We investigated the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the baseline pupil size and the PLR in 510 infant twins assessed at 5 months of age (281 monozygot…
Preferential looking to eyes versus mouth in early infancy
BACKGROUND: From birth, infants orient preferentially to faces, and when looking at the face, they attend primarily to eyes and mouth. These areas convey different types of information, and earlier research suggests that genetic factors influence the preference for one or the other in young children. METHODS: In a sample of 535 5-month-old infant twins, we assessed eye (relative to mouth) preference in early infancy, i.e., before neural systems f…
Infants’ looking preferences for social versus non-social objects reflect genetic variation
To what extent do individual differences in infants’ early preference for faces versus non-facial objects reflect genetic and environmental factors? Here in a sample of 536 5-month-old same-sex twins, we assessed attention to faces using eye tracking in two ways: initial orienting to faces at the start of the trial (thought to reflect subcortical processing) and sustained face preference throughout the trial (thought to reflect emerging attention…
Sustained looking at faces at 5 months of age is associated with socio‐communicative skills in the second year of life
Efficiently processing information from faces in infancy is foundational for nonverbal communication. We studied individual differences in 5‐month‐old infants' ( N = 517) sustained attention to faces and preference for emotional faces. We assessed the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to individual differences in these gaze behaviors, and the association between these traits and other concurrent and later phenotypes. We found a…
Parent‐child interaction at age 5 months
BACKGROUND: Characteristics of parent-child interaction (PCI) early in life have been associated with later development in the child. Twin studies can help to disentangle child contributions to parent-child interaction, for example, by assessing the influence of the child's genetics on his/her social environment, which includes parental behaviour. METHODS: Infant twins from a community sample [354 monozygotic (MZ), 268 same-sex dizygotic (DZ)] we…
Different sensory dimensions in infancy are associated with separable etiological influences and with autistic traits in toddlerhood
BACKGROUND: Infants vary significantly in the way they process and respond to sensory stimuli, and altered sensory processing has been reported among infants later diagnosed with autism. Previous work with adolescents and adults suggests that variability in sensory processing may have a strong genetic basis. Yet, little is known about the etiological factors influencing sensory differences in infancy, when brain circuits supporting social and non…
Genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in visual attention and oculomotor control in early infancy
Infants differ in their level of eye movement control, which at the extreme could be linked to autism. We assessed eye movements in 450 twins (225 pairs, 57% monozygotic, 46% female, aged 5–6 months) using the gap-overlap eye-tracking task. Shorter latency in the gap condition was associated with having more parent-rated autistic traits at 2 years. Latency across the task's three conditions was primarily explained by one highly heritable latent f…
Clinical Heterogeneity Among Preschoolers Recruited as Infants Due to Elevated Likelihood of Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and developmental language disorder (DLD) are neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) that share etiological factors and frequently co‐occur. Despite this, they have rarely been studied together—particularly in relation to functional outcomes. In this study, we investigate the association between the developmental pattern of sustained visual attention in infancy and num…
The stability of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule‐2 in children aged 14–36 months with elevated likelihood for autism
BACKGROUND: This study investigated the stability of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) classifications in a cohort of 304 siblings at elevated likelihood for autism (EL-siblings). METHODS: ADOS-2 assessments were conducted at 14, 24 and 36 months, with Clinical Best Estimate (CBE) autism diagnoses determined at 36 months. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that while some children have stable ADOS-2 classifications from …
Developmental psychology (12 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Autism (8 works) · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research (8 works) · Heritability (6 works) · Cognitive psychology (5 works) · Neuroscience (5 works) · Autism spectrum disorder (4 works) · Child and Animal Learning Development (4 works) · Cognition (4 works)