Dataset project SG-2019-12369935

The present database collects multidomain variables recorded from a set of 302 infants at higher likelihood of developing autism spectrum disorder (HL-ASD), higher likelihood of developing language learning impairment (HL_LLI) and lower likelihood for both ASD and LLI (LL). Inclusion criteria related to the three groups are reported in Piazza et al., 2023. Below there is the description of each variable available in the database.

·      Column A, Family risk: 0 = LL subject; 1 = HL_LLI subject; 2 = HL_ASD subject;

·      Column B, Clinical_risk_T36: 0 = typically developing (TD); 1 = ASD; 2 = LLI; 3 = other; The TD group included only children from the original LL group who at 36 month of age scored above the 30th percentile in the parent-administered Language Development Survey (LDS, Rescorla nad Alley, 2001), a questionnaire aimed at assessing expressive language development (standardized norms available for the Italian population (Rescorla et al., 2014). The clinical risk for ASD was confirmed based on the presence of a diagnosis of ASD according to the criteria of the DSM-5 diagnostic manual (APA, 2013) or the presence of moderate/severe autistic signs, assessed through the administration of the ADOS-2 at 36 months, with comparison scores > 6 (Dodd and Carr, 2003; Lord et al., 2012). The clinical risk for LD was confirmed under the following conditions: (a) obtaining a percentile < 5th percentile or < -2 SD in at least one standardized language test conducted at 36 months (expressive vocabulary, lexical comprehension, naming); (b) obtain a percentile < 10th or < -1.5 SD in at least two of the three tests listed above; (c) obtain a phono-articulatory accuracy score (Percentage of Correct Consonants) < 55% (Dodd and Carr, 2003); or (d) present a clinical indication of delayed/atypical phonological processes.

·      Column C, T6_age: age in days of the EEG recording performed at 6 months of age.

·      Column D, T12_age: age in days of the EEG recording performed at 12 months of age.

·      Column E, Gender: 0 = male; 1 = female.

·      Column F, Age_m: age of the mother at birth (years).

·      Column G, Age_f: age of the father at birth (years).

·      Column H, Pregnancy_diseases: 0 = no; 1 = yes.

·      Column I, Delivery_problems: 0 = no; 1 =yes.

·      Column J, Breastfeeding: 1 = yes; 2 = no; 3 = mixed.

·      Column K, EDUMD: Maternal education scored on an ad-hoc 90-point ordinal scale based on the Italian school system. Scores range between 10, corresponding to the fifth grade of elementary school; 50, equivalent to a high-school diploma; and      90, corresponding to post-doctoral degree.

·   Column L, EDUPD: Paternal education scored on an ad-hoc 90-point ordinal scale based on the Italian school system. Scores range between 10, corresponding to the fifth grade of elementary school; 50, equivalent to a high-school diploma; and    90, corresponding to post-doctoral degree.

·   Column M, SES: Socio-Economic Status scored according to Hollingshead 90-point scale, whereby a score ranging 10–90 was assigned to each parental job and the higher of two scores was used when both parents were employed (Hollingshead, 1975). Scores range between 10, corresponding to unskilled workers; 50, corresponding to sales workers; and 90, corresponding to major professionals.

·      Column N, GW: Gestational age, i.e. number of weeks of gestation at birth.

·      Column O, BW: Weight at birth in grams.

·    Column P, T6_IQ: IQ assessed at 6 months of age according to the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development- Third Edition (Bayley, 2006) and/or Griffiths mental development scales (0-2) (GMDS-R, Luiz et al., 2006).

·    Column Q, T24_IQ: IQ assessed at 24 months of age according to the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development- Third Edition (Bayley, 2006) and/or Griffiths mental development scales (0-2) (GMDS-R, Luiz et al., 2006).

·    Column R, T24_VOC_pct: Expressive vocabulary at 24 months of age, scored according to the Language Development Survey (LDS) (Rescorla et al., 2014) and/or the PVB questionnaire (Caselli e Casadio, 1995). Percentile scores are reported.

·    Column S, T36_VOC_pct: Expressive vocabulary at 36 months of age, scored according to the Language Development Survey (LDS) (Rescorla et al., 2014) and/or the PVB questionnaire (Caselli e Casadio, 1995). Percentile scores are reported.

·      Column T, ADOS_CSS_TOT: ADOS-2 (Calibrated Severity Scores-CSS) total score at 36 months. To maximize statistical power, ADOS-2 scores at 18–24 months were used for children who did not have clinical data at 36 months.

·      Column U, CNTNAP2rs745AT: genotypes of the rs745 SNP of the CNTNAP2 gene, 0 = AA; 1 = AT; 2 = TT.

·      Column V, CNTNAP2rs102TC: genotypes of the rs745 SNP of the CNTNAP2 gene, 0 = TT; 1 = TC; 2 = CC.

·      Column W, Time_point: 1 = EEG data acquired at 6 months old (T6); 2 = EEG data acquired at 12 months old (T12).

·    Column Y-AI, PSD_frequencyband_cluster: power values computed for each frequency band (delta, theta, low_alpha, high_alpha, beta and gamma) in two clusters of frontal electrodes (frontal left, frontal right). See Piazza et al., 2023 for more details.

·     Column AJ-AK, DFA _cluster: exponent of the Detrend Fluctiation Analysis (DFA) computed in two clusters of frontal electrodes (frontal left, frontal right, Piazza et al., 2023). The amplitude envelope of the signal was extracted using the Hilbert transform and used for the DFA, implemented as described in Peng et al. (1995), obtaining the DFA exponent.

·     Column AL-AQ, MSE values. MSE was computed using the mMSE toolbox (Kosciessa et al., 2020) for scale 1 to 30. Successively, the MSE computed for scale 1 to 10, 11 to 20 and 21 to 30 were averaged for each analyzed channel, thus obtaining three MSE values related respectively to low, medium and high scales. Again two clusters of frontal electrodes have been analyzed (frontal left, frontal right, Piazza et al., 2023).

·      Column AR-BC, Functional Connectivity metrics (magnitude squared coherence, MSC, and phase lag index, PLI) computed for all frequency bands (delta, theta, low_alpha, high_alpha, beta and gamma). See Falivene et al., 2024 for the details.

·   Column BD-BG, offset (off) and exponent (exp) of the spectrum aperiodic component computed for two clusters of frontal electrodes (frontal left, frontal right, Piazza et a., 2023). The specparam algorithm version 1.1.0 of Donoghue et al. 2020 was employed for the calculation of aperiodic exponent and offset.

If you use this dataset please cite the following manucripts:

Piazza, C., Dondena, C., Riboldi, E. M., Riva, V., & Cantiani, C. (2023). Baseline EEG in the first year of life: Preliminary insights into the development of autism spectrum disorder and language impairments. Iscience, 26(7).

Falivene, A.; Cantiani, C.; Dondena, C.; Riboldi, E.M.; Riva, V.; Piazza, C. EEG Functional Connectivity Analysis for the Study of the Brain Maturation in the First Year of Life. Sensors 2024, 24, 4979. 

This research was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Finalizzata SG-2019-12369935; Ricerca corrente; "5 per mille" funds for biomedical research).