Qin Bin, Wang Longlun, Zhang Yun, Cai Jinhua, Chen Jie, Li Tingyu
Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Children Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Medical Research in Cognitive Development and Learning and Memory Disorders, Chongqing, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2018 Jun 27;9:278. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00278. eCollection 2018.
The functional mechanism behind autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not clear, but it is related to a brain connectivity disorder. Previous studies have found that functional brain connectivity of ASD is linked to both increased connections and weakened connections, and the inconsistencies in functional brain connectivity may be related to age. The functional connectivity in adolescents and adults with ASD is generally less than in age-matched controls; functional connectivity in younger children with the disorder appears to be higher. As the basis of the functional network, the structural network is less studied. This study intends to further study the pathogenesis of ASD by analyzing the white matter network of ASD preschool children. In this study, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) was used to scan preschool children (aged 2-6 years, 39 children with ASD, 19 children as controls), and graph theory was used for analysis. Enhanced topological network efficiency was found in the preschool children with ASD. A higher nodal efficiency was found in the left precuneus, thalamus, and bilateral superior parietal cortex, and the nodal efficiency of the left precuneus was positively associated with the severity of ASD. Our research shows the white matter network efficiency of preschoolers with ASD. It supports the theory of excessive early brain growth in ASD, and it shows left brain lateralization. It opens the way for new research perspectives of children with ASD.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）背后的功能机制尚不清楚，但它与大脑连接障碍有关。先前的研究发现，ASD的大脑功能连接既与连接增加有关，也与连接减弱有关，而大脑功能连接的不一致可能与年龄有关。患有ASD的青少年和成年人的功能连接通常低于年龄匹配的对照组；患有该疾病的年幼儿童的功能连接似乎更高。作为功能网络的基础，结构网络的研究较少。本研究旨在通过分析ASD学龄前儿童的白质网络，进一步研究ASD的发病机制。在本研究中，使用扩散张量成像（DTI）对学龄前儿童（2至6岁，39名ASD儿童，19名儿童作为对照）进行扫描，并使用图论进行分析。发现患有ASD的学龄前儿童的拓扑网络效率增强。在左侧楔前叶、丘脑和双侧顶上叶皮层发现较高的节点效率，并且左侧楔前叶的节点效率与ASD的严重程度呈正相关。我们的研究展示了患有ASD的学龄前儿童的白质网络效率。它支持ASD早期大脑过度生长的理论，并显示出左脑偏侧化。它为ASD儿童的新研究视角开辟了道路。
