Journal of Psychiatry

A Neurobiological model for regulating Social attention

25^th World Summit on Psychology, Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

October 19-20, 2017 | San Francisco, USA

Ronny Geva

Bar Ilan University, Israel

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

Evolution preserves social attention due to its key role in supporting survival. Nevertheless, social attention dysregulation is a central symptom in a wide array of childhood psychopathologies. Humans are attracted to social cues from infancy. However, little is known about the neurobiological infrastructure that drives the development of cortically mediated social attention. Attention regulation and social behaviors are thought to involve late maturing prefrontal cortical neural networks. Theoretical models suggest that subcortical neural networks, some known to mature pre-birth, set a platform for these later-emerging networks. This presentation will delineate the first empirical support for this developmental trajectory in humans. An evolutionary-based, vertical-hierarchical theoretical model of self-regulation suggests that neonatal brainstem inputs are key for the development of well-regulated social attention. Models, including our own, have suggested that brainstem neural networks that mature pre-birth, set a platform for later emerging, higher order, arousal regulation, and social networks. In this presentation, eight-year-long follow-up data with neonates born with brainstem dysfunction will be presented. Dependent measures include gaze tracking and EEG recordings. Results showed that neonatal brainstem compromise is related to EEG power changes that indicate suppressed bottom-up input needed to alert social attention. Gaze tracking indicated dysregulated arousal-modulated attention and difficulty in gaze engagement to socially neutral compared to nonsocial cues. Integrating models of autism and cross-species data with model suggests neonatal brainstem input as a gateway for bottom-up regulation of social attention. Applicative diagnostic and therapeutic implications will be discussed.

Biography :

Ronny Geva is a Fulbright Scholar, has attained her PhD from the City University of New York and Post-doctoral studies from Tel Aviv University Center for Child Development. She is the Head of the Developmental Neuropsychology Lab at the Gonda Brain Research Center and the Forthcoming Chair of the Department of Psychology of Bar Ilan University. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals. Her work has been cited over 1000 times during the last five years. She is currently an Associate Editor of Infancy Journal and a member of multiple professional child psychology and neuroscience associations.