Attanasio Margherita, Mazza Monica, Le Donne Ilenia, Nigri Anna, Valenti Marco
Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
Reference Regional Centre for Autism, Abruzzo Region, Local Health Unit ASL 1, L'Aquila, Italy.
Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2024 Dec 14. doi: 10.1007/s00406-024-01949-y.
The literature suggests that alterations in functional connectivity (FC) of the Salience Network (SN) may contribute to the manifestation of some clinical features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The SN plays a key role in integrating external sensory information with internal emotional and bodily information. An atypical FC of this network could explain some symptomatic features of ASD such as difficulties in self-awareness and emotion processing and provide new insights into the neurobiological basis of autism. Using the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange II we investigated the resting-state FC of core regions of SN and its association with autism symptomatology in 29 individuals with ASD compared with 29 typically developing (TD) individuals. In ASD compared to TD individuals, seed-based connectivity analysis showed a reduced FC between the rostral prefrontal cortex and left cerebellum and an increased FC between the right supramarginal gyrus and the regions of the middle temporal gyrus and angular gyrus. Finally, we found that the clinical features of ASD are mainly associated with an atypical FC of the anterior insula and the involvement of dysfunctional mechanisms for emotional and social information processing. These findings expand the knowledge about the differences in the FC of SN between ASD and TD, highlighting atypical FC between structures that play key roles in social cognition and complex cognitive processes. Such anomalies could explain difficulties in processing salient stimuli, especially those of a socio-affective nature, with an impact on emotional and behavioral regulation.
文献表明，突显网络（SN）功能连接性（FC）的改变可能导致自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）某些临床特征的表现。SN在整合外部感官信息与内部情感和身体信息方面起关键作用。该网络的非典型FC可以解释ASD的一些症状特征，如自我意识和情感处理困难，并为自闭症的神经生物学基础提供新的见解。利用自闭症脑成像数据交换II，我们研究了29名ASD患者与29名发育正常（TD）个体相比，SN核心区域的静息态FC及其与自闭症症状学的关联。与TD个体相比，在ASD患者中，基于种子点的连接性分析显示，喙前额叶皮质与左小脑之间的FC降低，右缘上回与颞中回和角回区域之间的FC增加。最后，我们发现ASD的临床特征主要与前脑岛的非典型FC以及情感和社会信息处理功能失调机制的参与有关。这些发现扩展了关于ASD和TD之间SN的FC差异的知识，突出了在社会认知和复杂认知过程中起关键作用的结构之间的非典型FC。这种异常可以解释处理突显刺激的困难，特别是那些具有社会情感性质的刺激，从而对情绪和行为调节产生影响。
