Zhang Hui, Peng Dehong, Tang Shixiong, Bi Anyao, Long Yicheng
The Department of Clinical Nursing Teaching and Research Section, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China.
Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China.
Bioengineering (Basel). 2024 Aug 30;11(9):882. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering11090882.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a collection of neurodevelopmental disorders whose pathobiology remains elusive. This study aimed to investigate the possible neural mechanisms underlying ASD using a dynamic brain network model and a relatively large-sample, multi-site dataset. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 208 ASD patients and 227 typical development (TD) controls, who were drawn from the multi-site Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) database. Brain network flexibilities were estimated and compared between the ASD and TD groups at both global and local levels, after adjusting for sex, age, head motion, and site effects. The results revealed significantly increased brain network flexibilities (indicating a decreased stability) at the global level, as well as at the local level within the default mode and sensorimotor areas in ASD patients than TD participants. Additionally, significant ASD-related decreases in flexibilities were also observed in several occipital regions at the nodal level. Most of these changes were significantly correlated with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) total score in the entire sample. These results suggested that ASD is characterized by significant changes in temporal stabilities of the functional brain network, which can further strengthen our understanding of the pathobiology of ASD.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一组神经发育障碍，其病理生物学机制仍不清楚。本研究旨在使用动态脑网络模型和相对大样本的多中心数据集，研究ASD潜在的神经机制。静息态功能磁共振成像数据来自多中心自闭症脑成像数据交换（ABIDE）数据库中的208例ASD患者和227例典型发育（TD）对照。在调整性别、年龄、头部运动和部位效应后，估计并比较了ASD组和TD组在全局和局部水平上的脑网络灵活性。结果显示，与TD参与者相比，ASD患者在全局水平以及默认模式和感觉运动区域内的局部水平上，脑网络灵活性显著增加（表明稳定性降低）。此外，在枕叶的几个节点水平上也观察到与ASD相关的灵活性显著降低。在整个样本中，这些变化大多与自闭症诊断观察量表（ADOS）总分显著相关。这些结果表明，ASD的特征是功能性脑网络的时间稳定性发生显著变化，这可以进一步加强我们对ASD病理生物学的理解。
