Unit for Neurogenetic Syndromes With Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy.
Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation, and Physiotherapy, Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Neurol Sci. 2024 Sep;45(9):4549-4561. doi: 10.1007/s10072-024-07528-2. Epub 2024 Apr 19.
Neurophysiological studies recognized that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with altered patterns of over- and under-connectivity. However, little is known about network organization in children with ASD in the early phases of development and its correlation with the severity of core autistic features.
The present study aimed at investigating the association between brain connectivity derived from MEG signals and severity of ASD traits measured with different diagnostic clinical scales, in a sample of 16 children with ASD aged 2 to 6 years.
A significant correlation emerged between connectivity strength in cortical brain areas implicated in several resting state networks (Default mode, Central executive, Salience, Visual and Sensorimotor) and the severity of communication anomalies, social interaction problems, social affect problems, and repetitive behaviors. Seed analysis revealed that this pattern of correlation was mainly caused by global rather than local effects.
The present evidence suggests that altered connectivity strength in several resting state networks is related to clinical features and may contribute to neurofunctional correlates of ASD. Future studies implementing the same method on a wider and stratified sample may further support functional connectivity as a possible biomarker of the condition.
神经生理学研究表明，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）与过度和不足连接模式的改变有关。然而，对于 ASD 儿童在发育早期的网络组织及其与核心自闭症特征严重程度的相关性知之甚少。
本研究旨在探讨来自 MEG 信号的大脑连接与使用不同诊断临床量表测量的 ASD 特征严重程度之间的关联，该研究样本包括 16 名 2 至 6 岁的 ASD 儿童。
在几个静息态网络（默认模式、中央执行、突显、视觉和感觉运动）中涉及的皮质脑区的连接强度与沟通异常、社会互动问题、社会情感问题和重复行为的严重程度之间出现了显著相关性。种子分析表明，这种相关性模式主要是由全局而不是局部效应引起的。
目前的证据表明，几个静息态网络中连接强度的改变与临床特征有关，可能有助于解释 ASD 的神经功能相关性。未来在更广泛和分层的样本上实施相同方法的研究可能会进一步支持功能连接作为该疾病的一个可能的生物标志物。
