RCCA revealed three distinct FC patterns in recurrent ASD-related networks, each contributing to predict individual differences in cognitive, social and sensory features, which may shed light on atypical brain network topology associated with specific phenotypic manifestations of ASD.
Abstract
The heterogeneity in both the neurobiological mechanisms and the phenotypic presentations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) poses a major challenge to clinical and translational research. Alterations in functional connectivity (FC) have been associated with ASD, yet it remains unclear whether and how divergent brain network properties may account for individual differences across ASD-related symptomatology and behaviors. We applied source-level reconstruction to rest-like non-task-related high-density EEG data in a cohort of 104 young children (38 with ASD) to identify global and local alterations of cortical network connectivity. We subsequently used regularized canonical correlation analysis (rCCA) to characterize specific FC patterns linked to variation in cognitive, social and sensory dimensions derived from standard clinical instruments. We found increased low-frequency FC in frontotemporal cross-hemispheric networks and lateral-occipital regions of young ASD children versus healthy peers. RCCA revealed three distinct FC patterns in recurrent ASD-related networks, each contributing to predict individual differences in cognitive, social and sensory features. These linked FC-behavior dimensions may shed light on atypical brain network topology associated with specific phenotypic manifestations of ASD, which might implicate unique underlying neurobiological mechanisms.
FMRI data from 162 ASD and 175 TD adolescents are analyzed to demonstrate statistical associations among altered spatial-functional properties, clinical severity, and transcriptomic profiles related to synaptic signaling, mitochondrial processes, and glial-related functions in ASD, providing a complementary spatial perspective on large-scale functional organization.
Jun Pan, Heng Zhang, Yiran Zhai et al.· Frontiers in Neuroscience· 0 citations
Findings indicate that altered alpha-band connectivity trajectories are detectable in infancy in children later diagnosed with autism and may contribute to later differences in developmental outcomes.
Haerin Chung, W. W. An, C. Wilkinson et al.· medRxiv· 1 citation
Topological disorganization in the autistic brain network varies across developmental stages, shifting from reduced global integration in childhood to enhanced segregation of social-brain circuits in adolescence.
Min Li, Kohei Kurita, Takashi Yamada et al.· Frontiers in Neuroscience· 0 citations
Children and adolescents with ASD exhibited lower empathy capabilities than control subjects, which may be attributed to dysfunctions in the salience and social brain networks.
Yong-Lu Wang, Zhang-Liang Ma, Zhiyi Wang et al.· Frontiers in Psychiatry· 0 citations
An exploratory association between right precuneus GMV and ADOS social-domain scores suggests a possible link between localized structural variation and social symptom severity, although this finding requires replication in longitudinal and clinically richer datasets given their sensitivity to the harmonization strategy.
Gang Xiao, Xiaoshi Li, Yue Qin et al.· Frontiers in Neuroscience· 0 citations
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly heritable; however, the neural architecture underlying semantic processing and social functioning, and the extent to which it reflects familial liability, remains insufficiently understood. Unaffected siblings (SIB), who share substantial genetic liability with individuals with ASD, offer a critical framework for identifying intermediate neural phenotypes. We examined 36 individuals with ASD, 36 SIB, and 37 typically developing (TD) controls, matched for age, IQ, and handedness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a semantic judgment task was used to compare neural activation across groups and to assess whether associations with social functioning, measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), reflected familial risk or dimensional continuity across the autism spectrum. Group comparisons revealed a graded endophenotypic pattern in inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activation, with reduced activation in ASD and intermediate responses in SIB. The middle temporal gyrus (MTG) showed a similar but weaker gradient, with SIB not differing significantly from TD. Both ASD and SIB also demonstrated heightened cuneus activation, consistent with a heritable compensatory shift toward perceptual processing. Importantly, reduced MTG activation, along with a weaker marginal pattern in the IFG, was associated with higher SRS scores in both the familial and full samples, suggesting an association between semantic activation and social functioning. These findings clarify how familial liability and dimensional variation jointly shape the neural organization of semantic processing and social functioning in ASD.
Shu-Hui Lee, C. Liao, Tai-Li Chou et al.· Autism Research· 0 citations
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