Lidstone Daniel E, Rochowiak Rebecca, Mostofsky Stewart H, Nebel Mary Beth
Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Autism Res. 2021 Jan 22. doi: 10.1002/aur.2476.
This study examined whether disruptions in connectivity involving regions critical for learning, planning, and executing movements are relevant to core autism symptoms. Spatially constrained ICA was performed using resting-state fMRI from 419 children (autism spectrum disorder (ASD) = 105; typically developing (TD) = 314) to identify functional motor subdivisions. Comparing the spatial organization of each subdivision between groups, we found voxels that contributed significantly less to the right posterior cerebellar component in children with ASD versus TD (P <0.001). Next, we examined the effect of diagnosis on right posterior cerebellar connectivity with all other motor subdivisions. The model was significant (P = 0.014) revealing that right posterior cerebellar connectivity with bilateral dorsomedial primary motor cortex was, on average, stronger in children with ASD, while right posterior cerebellar connectivity with left-inferior parietal lobule (IPL), bilateral dorsolateral premotor cortex, and supplementary motor area was stronger in TD children (all P ≤0.02). We observed a diagnosis-by-connectivity interaction such that for children with ASD, elevated social-communicative and excessive repetitive-behavior symptom severity were both associated with right posterior cerebellar-left-IPL hypoconnectivity (P ≤0.001). Right posterior cerebellar and left-IPL are strongly implicated in visuomotor processing with dysfunction in this circuit possibly leading to anomalous development of skills, such as motor imitation, that are crucial for effective social-communication. LAY SUMMARY: This study examines whether communication between various brain regions involved in the control of movement are disrupted in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We show communication between the right posterior cerebellum and left IPL, a circuit important for efficient visual-motor integration, is disrupted in children with ASD and associated with the severity of ASD symptoms. These results may explain observations of visual-motor integration impairments in children with ASD that are associated with ASD symptom severity.
本研究探讨了涉及学习、计划和执行运动的关键区域的连接中断是否与自闭症核心症状相关。使用419名儿童的静息态功能磁共振成像进行空间受限独立成分分析（ICA），以识别功能性运动亚区（自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）组105名；典型发育（TD）组314名）。比较两组之间每个亚区的空间组织，我们发现与TD儿童相比，ASD儿童对右侧后小脑成分贡献显著减少的体素（P<0.001）。接下来，我们研究了诊断对右侧后小脑与所有其他运动亚区连接性的影响。该模型具有显著性（P = 0.014），表明平均而言，ASD儿童右侧后小脑与双侧背内侧初级运动皮层的连接性更强，而TD儿童右侧后小脑与左侧顶下小叶（IPL）、双侧背外侧运动前皮层和辅助运动区的连接性更强（所有P≤0.02）。我们观察到诊断与连接性之间的交互作用，即对于ASD儿童，社交沟通和过度重复行为症状严重程度的升高均与右侧后小脑-左侧IPL低连接性相关（P≤0.001）。右侧后小脑和左侧IPL在视觉运动处理中起着重要作用，该回路功能障碍可能导致对有效社交沟通至关重要的技能（如运动模仿）异常发育。研究概要：本研究探讨了自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童中参与运动控制的各个脑区之间的通信是否受到干扰。我们发现，对高效视觉运动整合很重要的右侧后小脑和左侧IPL之间的通信在ASD儿童中受到干扰，并与ASD症状的严重程度相关。这些结果可能解释了与ASD症状严重程度相关的ASD儿童视觉运动整合障碍的观察结果。
