Li Xiaomeng, Wang Longlun, Qin Bin, Zhang Yun, Zhou Zhiming, Qin Yong, Bao Guangcheng, Huang Jie, Cai Jinhua
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing 400014, China.
Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400014, China.
Curr Med Imaging. 2020;16(7):921-927. doi: 10.2174/1573405616666200510003144.
The brain functional network of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the earlier stages of life has been almost unknown due to difficulties in obtaining a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). This study aimed to perform rs-MRI under a sedated sleep state and reveal possible alterations in the brain functional network.
Rs-fMRI was performed in a group of preschool children (aged 2-6 years, 53 with ASD, 63 as controls) under a sedated sleeping state. Based on graph theoretical analysis, global and local topological metrics were calculated to investigate alterations in brain functional networks. Besides, correlation analyses were conducted between the abnormal attribute values and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores.
The graph theoretical analysis showed that the nodal degree of the right medial frontal gyrus and the nodal efficiency of the right lingual gyrus in the ASD group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant positive correlation (R=0.318, P<0.05) between the right midfrontal gyrus nodal degree values and CARS scores in the ASD patients.
Alterations of some nodal attributes in the brain network occurred in preschool autistic children which could serve as potential imaging biomarkers for evaluating ASD in earlier stages.
由于获取静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI）存在困难，生命早期自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的脑功能网络几乎不为人知。本研究旨在在镇静睡眠状态下进行rs-MRI，并揭示脑功能网络中可能存在的改变。
对一组学龄前儿童（2至6岁，53例ASD患儿，63例作为对照）在镇静睡眠状态下进行rs-fMRI。基于图论分析，计算全局和局部拓扑指标以研究脑功能网络的改变。此外，对异常属性值与儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）评分进行相关性分析。
图论分析显示，ASD组右侧额内侧回的节点度和右侧舌回的节点效率高于对照组（P<0.05）。ASD患者右侧额中回节点度值与CARS评分之间存在统计学显著正相关（R=0.318，P<0.05）。
学龄前自闭症儿童脑网络中一些节点属性发生改变，这可作为早期评估ASD的潜在影像生物标志物。
