Zoltowski Alisa R, Failla Michelle D, Wu Fiona, Convery Caitlin A, Lewis Brianna, Woodward Neil D, Rogers Baxter P, Cascio Carissa J
Life Span Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
College of Nursing, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Biol Psychol. 2025 May;198:109043. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109043. Epub 2025 Apr 30.
BACKGROUND: There is evidence for altered interoceptive processing in individuals diagnosed with autism, compared to non-autistic individuals. At a neural level, functional and structural connectivity of interoceptive cortices may differ in autism, though developmental patterns of these differences are unclear as well as how these patterns may vary by subregion within the insular cortex. To better understand the roles of autism, age, and subregion in interoceptive connectivity patterns, we used a cross-sectional approach to examine interoceptive functional connectivity across individuals spanning a wide age range. METHODS: N = 59 autistic individuals (ages 7-54) and N = 71 non-autistic individuals (ages 7-51) completed a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. From these scans, we analyzed seed-based functional connectivity of insula subregions (posterior, middle, and anterior) by hemisphere. We analyzed associations with age, group, and interoceptive self-reported experiences, as measured in a subset of individuals who completed the Body Perception Questionnaire. RESULTS: We found that with age, primary interoceptive cortex showed decreased functional coupling with subcortical regions such as the thalamus and increased coupling with multimodal parietal regions. Functional connectivity within key interoceptive areas was decreased in those with increased reported body awareness. Differences between the autistic and non-autistic groups were minimal, with a single finding of heightened connectivity in autism between left posterior insula and lateral occipital cortex. CONCLUSIONS: These findings shed light on potential developmental shifts in how interoceptive processing is balanced between lower-order and higher-order areas. Further, they provide background for how autistic patterns of interoceptive processing may be considered relative to age.
背景:与非自闭症个体相比,有证据表明被诊断为自闭症的个体存在内感受处理改变。在神经层面,自闭症患者内感受皮层的功能和结构连接可能存在差异,不过这些差异的发育模式尚不清楚,以及这些模式如何因岛叶皮层内的子区域而异。为了更好地理解自闭症、年龄和子区域在内感受连接模式中的作用,我们采用横断面研究方法,检查了广泛年龄范围内个体的内感受功能连接。 方法:59名自闭症个体(年龄7 - 54岁)和71名非自闭症个体(年龄7 - 51岁)完成了静息态功能磁共振成像扫描。通过这些扫描,我们按半球分析了岛叶子区域(后部、中部和前部)基于种子点的功能连接。我们分析了与年龄、组别以及内感受自我报告体验之间的关联,这些体验是在完成身体感知问卷的一部分个体中测量的。 结果:我们发现,随着年龄增长,初级内感受皮层与丘脑等皮层下区域的功能耦合减少,与多模态顶叶区域的耦合增加。报告的身体意识增强的个体,关键内感受区域内的功能连接减少。自闭症组和非自闭症组之间的差异很小,唯一的发现是自闭症患者左后岛叶与枕外侧皮层之间的连接增强。 结论:这些发现揭示了内感受处理在低阶和高阶区域之间如何平衡的潜在发育变化。此外,它们为如何相对于年龄考虑自闭症的内感受处理模式提供了背景。
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