Mei Ting, Ma Zeng-Hui, Guo Yan-Qing, Lu Bin, Cao Qing-Jiu, Chen Xiao, Yang Liu, Wang Hui, Tang Xin-Zhou, Ji Zhao-Zheng, Liu Jing-Ran, Xu Ling-Zi, Wang Li-Qi, Yang Yu-Lu, Li Xue, Yan Chao-Gan, Liu Jing
Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.
Transl Pediatr. 2022 Mar;11(3):349-358. doi: 10.21037/tp-21-412.
Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by atypical developmental changes during brain maturation, but regional brain functional changes that occur with age and across different frequency bands are unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore potential age and frequency band-related changes in the regional brain activities in autism.
A total of 65 participants who met the DSM-IV criteria for autistic disorder and 55 typically developed (TD) participants (both age 6-30 years) were recruited in the current study. The two groups were matched in age (t=-1.314, P=0.191) and gender (χ=2.760, P=0.097). The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was employed to explore the effect of development on spontaneous brain activity in individuals with autism and in TD participants across slow-5 (0.01-0.027 Hz), slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz), and slow-3 (0.073-0.1 Hz) frequency bands. The diagnosis-by-age interaction effect in the whole brain voxels in autism and TD groups was investigated.
Autism individuals showed significantly higher ALFF in the dorsal striatum in childhood (Caudate cluster: t=3.626, P=0.001; Putamen cluster: t=2.839, P=0.007) and remarkably lower ALFF in the dorsal striatum in adulthood (Caudate cluster: t=-2.198, P=0.038; Putamen cluster: t=-2.314, P=0.030) relative to TD, while no significant differences were observed in adolescence (all P>0.05). In addition, abnormal ALFF amplitudes were specific to the slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz) frequency band in the clusters above.
The current study indicated abnormal development patterns in the spontaneous activity of the dorsal striatum in autism and highlighted the potential role of the slow-4 frequency band in the pathology of autism. Also, the potential brain mechanism of autism was revealed, suggesting that autism-related variations should be investigated in a specific frequency.
自闭症谱系障碍的特征是大脑成熟过程中出现非典型发育变化，但不同年龄段和不同频段的大脑区域功能变化尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在探讨自闭症患者大脑区域活动中与年龄和频段相关的潜在变化。
本研究共招募了65名符合DSM-IV自闭症障碍标准的参与者和55名发育正常（TD）的参与者（年龄均为6至30岁）。两组在年龄（t=-1.314，P=0.191）和性别（χ=2.760，P=0.097）上进行了匹配。采用低频振幅（ALFF）来探究发育对自闭症患者和TD参与者在慢波5（0.01-0.027Hz）、慢波4（0.027-0.073Hz）和慢波3（0.073-0.1Hz）频段的自发脑活动的影响。研究了自闭症组和TD组全脑体素中诊断与年龄的交互作用。
与TD组相比，自闭症患者在儿童期背侧纹状体的ALFF显著更高（尾状核簇：t=3.626，P=0.001；壳核簇：t=2.839，P=0.007），而在成年期背侧纹状体的ALFF显著更低（尾状核簇：t=-2.198，P=0.038；壳核簇：t=-2.314，P=0.030），而在青少年期未观察到显著差异（所有P>0.05）。此外，上述簇中的异常ALFF振幅特定于慢波4（0.027-0.073Hz）频段。
本研究表明自闭症患者背侧纹状体自发活动存在异常发育模式，并突出了慢波4频段在自闭症病理中的潜在作用。此外，揭示了自闭症潜在的脑机制，表明应在特定频率下研究与自闭症相关的变异。
