Brain and Mental Health Laboratory, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences and School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University, the Netherlands.
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University, the Netherlands.
Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2019 Mar;4(3):260-270. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2018.11.010. Epub 2018 Dec 5.
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging-based studies on functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have generated inconsistent results. Interpretation of findings is further hampered by small samples and a focus on a limited number of networks, with networks underlying sensory processing being largely underexamined. We aimed to comprehensively characterize ASD-related alterations within and between 20 well-characterized resting-state networks using baseline data from the EU-AIMS (European Autism Interventions-A Multicentre Study for Developing New Medications) Longitudinal European Autism Project.
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data was available for 265 individuals with ASD (7.5-30.3 years; 73.2% male) and 218 typically developing individuals (6.9-29.8 years; 64.2% male), all with IQ > 70. We compared functional connectivity within 20 networks-obtained using independent component analysis-between the ASD and typically developing groups, and related functional connectivity within these networks to continuous (overall) autism trait severity scores derived from the Social Responsiveness Scale Second Edition across all participants. Furthermore, we investigated case-control differences and autism trait-related alterations in between-network connectivity.
Higher autism traits were associated with increased connectivity within salience, medial motor, and orbitofrontal networks. However, we did not replicate previously reported case-control differences within these networks. The between-network analysis did reveal case-control differences showing on average 1) decreased connectivity of the visual association network with somatosensory, medial, and lateral motor networks, and 2) increased connectivity of the cerebellum with these sensory and motor networks in ASD compared with typically developing subjects.
We demonstrate ASD-related alterations in within- and between-network connectivity. The between-network alterations broadly affect connectivity between cerebellum, visual, and sensory-motor networks, potentially underlying impairments in multisensory and visual-motor integration frequently observed in ASD.
基于静息态功能磁共振成像的自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）功能连接研究产生了不一致的结果。由于样本量小且仅关注有限数量的网络，研究结果的解释受到进一步阻碍，而对感官处理所涉及的网络则基本研究不足。我们旨在使用欧盟自闭症干预措施 - 开发新药物（EU-AIMS）纵向欧洲自闭症项目的基线数据，全面描述 ASD 相关的 20 个特征良好的静息态网络内和网络间的改变。
265 名 ASD 患者（7.5-30.3 岁；73.2%为男性）和 218 名典型发育个体（6.9-29.8 岁；64.2%为男性）的静息态功能磁共振成像数据可用，所有个体的智商均>70。我们比较了 ASD 和典型发育组之间 20 个网络（通过独立成分分析获得）内的功能连接，并将这些网络内的功能连接与所有参与者的社会反应量表第二版得出的连续（整体）自闭症特质严重程度评分相关联。此外，我们还研究了病例对照差异和网络间连接的自闭症特质相关改变。
更高的自闭症特质与突显、内侧运动和眶额网络内的连接增加有关。然而，我们没有复制先前报道的这些网络内的病例对照差异。网络间分析确实揭示了病例对照差异，表明平均而言，1）与典型发育者相比，ASD 患者的视觉联想网络与躯体感觉、内侧和外侧运动网络之间的连接减少，2）小脑与这些感觉和运动网络之间的连接增加。
我们证明了 ASD 相关的网络内和网络间连接改变。网络间的改变广泛影响小脑、视觉和感觉运动网络之间的连接，这可能是 ASD 中经常观察到的多感觉和视觉运动整合受损的基础。
