Duan Xujun, Wang Runshi, Xiao Jinming, Li Ya, Huang Xinyue, Guo Xiaonan, Cao Jing, He Liyao, He Changchun, Ling Zihan, Shan Xiaolong, Chen Heng, Kang Xiaodong, Chen Huafu
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China; MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China.
Affiliated Sichuan Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital of Chengdu University of TCM, Sichuan Bayi Rehabilitation Center, Chengdu 611135, China.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2020 Apr 20;99:109874. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109874. Epub 2020 Jan 23.
Abnormalities in the structure of subcortical regions are central to numerous behaviors affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and these regions may undergo atypical coordinated neurodevelopment. However, relatively little is known about morphological correlations among subcortical structures in young children with ASD. In this study, using volumetric-based methodology and structural covariance approach, we investigated structural covariance of subcortical brain volume in 40 young children with ASD (<7.5 years old) and 38 age-, gender-, and handedness-matched typically developing (TD) children. Results showed that compared with TD children, children with ASD exhibited decreased structural covariation between the left and right cerebral hemispheres, specifically between the left and right thalami, right globus pallidus and left nucleus accumbens, and left globus pallidus and right nucleus accumbens. Compared with TD children, children with ASD exhibited increased structural covariation between adjacent regions, such as between the right globus pallidus and right putamen. Additionally, abnormalities in subcortical structural covariance can predict social communication and repetitive and stereotypic behavior in young children with ASD. Overall, these results suggest decreased long-range structural covariation and enhanced local covariation in subcortical structures in children with ASD, highlighting aberrant developmental coordination or synchronized maturation between subcortical regions that play crucial roles in social cognition and behavior in ASD.
皮质下区域结构异常是受自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）影响的众多行为的核心，并且这些区域可能经历非典型的协调神经发育。然而，对于患有ASD的幼儿皮质下结构之间的形态学相关性了解相对较少。在本研究中，我们使用基于体积的方法和结构协方差方法，调查了40名患有ASD的幼儿（<7.5岁）和38名年龄、性别和利手匹配的典型发育（TD）儿童的皮质下脑体积的结构协方差。结果显示，与TD儿童相比，患有ASD的儿童在左右大脑半球之间，特别是在左右丘脑之间、右侧苍白球和左侧伏隔核之间以及左侧苍白球和右侧伏隔核之间，表现出结构协变减少。与TD儿童相比，患有ASD的儿童在相邻区域之间，如右侧苍白球和右侧壳核之间，表现出结构协变增加。此外，皮质下结构协方差异常可以预测患有ASD的幼儿的社会沟通以及重复和刻板行为。总体而言，这些结果表明患有ASD的儿童皮质下结构的长程结构协变减少而局部协变增强，突出了在ASD的社会认知和行为中起关键作用的皮质下区域之间异常的发育协调或同步成熟。
