{
  "abstract": "Sleep problems and sensory over-responsivity (SOR) are common, co-occurring, and early emerging features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Yet, the early neural mechanisms underlying these symptoms remain unclear. Here, we used resting-state fMRI data from the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS) to examine how functional brain connectivity at 6 months may relate to parent-reported measures of sleep-onset problems and SOR in infants at varying familial likelihood for ASD. The right anterior insula (rAI) - a key hub of the salience network - was used in ROI-ROI analyses to investigate functional connectivity to cortical and cerebellar regions previously implicated in sleep disruption, sensory processing challenges, and ASD. Infants at high (HL) and low (LL) likelihood for ASD displayed divergent patterns of rAI connectivity with sensorimotor cortex, as well as cerebellar regions involved in sensorimotor processing and higher-order functions. Furthermore, stronger rAI connectivity with sensorimotor cortices and cerebellar regions was associated with worse sleep-onset problems and SOR in HL infants. In contrast, stronger rAI-cerebellar connectivity was related to fewer sleep-onset problems and SOR in LL infants. Our findings indicate that altered rAI connectivity may result in over-attribution of attention to sensory stimuli and highlight aberrant sensory prediction learning, which may underlie worse sleep problems and higher SOR in HL infants.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.",
    "Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.",
    "Center for Autism Research and Treatment, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.",
    "Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. mirella@ucla.edu.",
    "Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. mirella@ucla.edu."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Emily Chiem"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lauren Wagner"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Leanna M Hernandez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Shulamite Green"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Mirella Dapretto"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dp5ecvsqv60fx.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s11689-026-09721-0",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13726208",
  "id": "dp5ecvsqv60fx",
  "issns": [
    "1866-1947",
    "1866-1955"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972539",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Autism Spectrum Disorder Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7172385714",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13726208?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13726208",
  "pmid": "42972539",
  "published": "2026-08-04",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dp5ecvsqv60fx.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:45Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42972539",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972539"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Autism Spectrum Disorder Research",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Early sleep and sensory over-responsivity relate to insular functional connectivity with sensorimotor cortices and cerebellum in infants at varying likelihood for autism.",
  "title_text": "Early sleep and sensory over-responsivity relate to insular functional connectivity with sensorimotor cortices and cerebellum in infants at varying likelihood for autism.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T15:20:45Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dp5ecvsqv60fx",
  "venue": "Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders",
  "versions": []
}