Xu Jinping, Wang Hongwei, Zhang Lu, Xu Ziyun, Li Tian, Zhou Zhifeng, Zhou Zhenhui, Gan Yungen, Hu Qingmao
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Front Neurosci. 2018 Apr 11;12:234. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00234. eCollection 2018.
Some studies identified hypo-connectivity, while others showed hyper-connectivity of the insula in the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These contradictory findings leave open the question of whether and to what extent functional connectivity of the insula is altered and how functional connectivity of the insula is associated with the severity of ASD. A newly emerging insular atlas that comprises multiple functionally differentiated subregions provides a new framework to interpret the functional significance of insular findings and uncover the mechanisms underlying the severity of ASD. Using the new insular atlas, the present study aimed to investigate the distinct functional connectivity of the insular subregions and their associations with ASD severity in a cohort of 49 children with ASD and 33 typically developing (TD) subjects. We found that compared with TD group, the ASD group showed different connectivity patterns in the left ventral agranular insula, right ventral dysgranular and granular insula, and dorsal dysgranular insula, characterized by significant hyper-connectivity and/or hypo-connectivity with special brain regions. Furthermore, both the hypo-connectivity and hyper-connectivity patterns of the insular subregions were significantly associated with the severity of ASD symptoms. Our research demonstrated distinct functional connectivity patterns of the insular subregions and emphasized the importance of the subdivisions within the insula to the potential impact of functional difference in children with ASD. Moreover, these results might help us to better understand the mechanisms underlying the symptoms in children with ASD and might elucidate potential biomarkers for clinical applications.
一些研究发现岛叶存在连接不足，而另一些研究则显示自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者的岛叶存在连接过度。这些相互矛盾的发现使得岛叶的功能连接是否改变、改变的程度如何以及岛叶的功能连接与ASD严重程度如何相关等问题悬而未决。一个新出现的包含多个功能分化亚区域的岛叶图谱为解释岛叶研究结果的功能意义以及揭示ASD严重程度的潜在机制提供了一个新框架。本研究使用新的岛叶图谱，旨在调查49名ASD儿童和33名发育正常（TD）儿童队列中岛叶亚区域的不同功能连接及其与ASD严重程度的关联。我们发现，与TD组相比，ASD组在左侧腹侧无颗粒岛叶、右侧腹侧颗粒减少和颗粒岛叶以及背侧颗粒减少岛叶中表现出不同的连接模式，其特征是与特定脑区存在显著的连接过度和/或连接不足。此外，岛叶亚区域的连接不足和连接过度模式均与ASD症状的严重程度显著相关。我们的研究证明了岛叶亚区域不同的功能连接模式，并强调了岛叶内部分区对ASD儿童功能差异潜在影响的重要性。此外，这些结果可能有助于我们更好地理解ASD儿童症状背后的机制，并可能阐明临床应用的潜在生物标志物。
