Perceptual interpretation of biological motion relates to autistic traits in children born very preterm

Abstract Children born very preterm (VPT, ≥ 28 to < 32 gestational weeks) and extremely preterm (EPT, < 28 weeks) are at higher risk for autistic traits and biological motion (BM) processing deficits. Thus, we aimed to examine links between autistic traits and a condensed BM interpretation assessment, as well as potential group differences in performance in 12-year-old children born preterm and full-term. Four short BM stimuli (point-light-walkers) in two noise levels were presented to 25 EPT, 53 VPT and 48 full-term 12-year-old children. Accuracy in BM interpretation was compared across groups and analyzed with parental ratings on the Social Responsiveness Scale 2, adjusting for neonatal characteristics and intelligence. Interactions between preterm status and BM interpretation accuracy with autistic traits were explored. Results showed that the children born EPT had poorer accuracy interpreting BM than the other groups, and children born VPT showed poorer accuracy BM interpretation in high noise compared with the full-term group. BM interpretation accuracy was linked to autistic traits in the EPT and VPT groups. Children born preterm with the poorest BM interpretation accuracy also exhibited the most autistic traits. We concluded that the condensed assessment found prematurity-related deficits in BM interpretation. Performance was strongly linked to autistic traits in the preterm groups, highlighting the relevance of BM interpretation for social reciprocity in children born VPT and EPT.