Infant excitation/inhibition balance interacts with executive attention to predict autistic traits in childhood

Table 2 Associations between infant metrics of E/I balance and neurodevelopmental traits in toddlerhood

Predictor	36-Month Autism Traits (SRS Total Score)				36-Month ADHD Traits (CBCL ADHD Subscale)
Predictor	b	95% CIs	β	p	b	95% CIs	β	p
Model 1: Main effects
10-month aperiodic exponent	2.49	[− 2.43, 7.41]	0.11	0.32	0.66	[− 1.25, 2.56]	0.07	0.50
EL-autism status	1.57	[0.72, 2.42]	0.34	< 0.001	0.39	[− 0.01, 0.80]	0.20	0.06
EL-ADHD status	0.89	[− 0.14, 1.93]	0.19	0.09	0.35	[− 0.07, 0.77]	0.17	0.10
EL-ADHD + autism status	− 0.78	[− 2.86, 1.31]	− 0.14	0.46	0.30	[− 0.55, 1.14]	0.12	0.49
Sex	− 0.74	[− 1.60, 0.12]	− 0.16	0.09	− 0.31	[− 0.69, 0.06]	− 0.17	0.10
Age in years at 10-month visit	3.61	[− 4.28, 11.49]	0.08	0.37	0.64	[− 3.01, 4.28]	0.03	0.73
Number of EEG Trials at 10-month visit	− 0.01	[− 0.01, 0.01]	− 0.06	0.53	− 0.01	[− 0.01, 0.01]	− 0.13	0.21
Model 2: Interaction effects
24-month executive attention	4.46	[− .78, 9.70]	1.87	0.09	− 2.46	[− 4.95, 0.04]	− 2.21	0.05
10-month aperiodic exponent*24-month executive attention	− 3.99	[− 7.39, − 0.60]	− 2.68	0.02	1.12	[− 0.51, 2.75]	1.60	0.18

CBCL, Child Behavior Checklist; EL, elevated likelihood; SRS, Social Responsiveness Scale; b, unstandardised coefficient; β, standardised coefficient

ISSN: 2040-2392