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Lin HY, Tseng WYI, Lai MC, Chang YT, Gau SSF. Shared atypical brain anatomy and intrinsic functional architecture in male youth with autism spectrum disorder and their unaffected brothers. Psychol Med 2017; 47:639-654. [PMID: 27825394 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291716002695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the search for definite genetic etiologies remains elusive. Delineating ASD endophenotypes can boost the statistical power to identify the genetic etiologies and pathophysiology of ASD. We aimed to test for endophenotypes of neuroanatomy and associated intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) via contrasting male youth with ASD, their unaffected brothers and typically developing (TD) males. METHOD The 94 participants (aged 9-19 years) - 20 male youth with ASD, 20 unaffected brothers and 54 TD males - received clinical assessments, and undertook structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Voxel-based morphometry was performed to obtain regional gray and white matter volumes. A seed-based approach, with seeds defined by the regions demonstrating atypical neuroanatomy shared by youth with ASD and unaffected brothers, was implemented to derive iFC. General linear models were used to compare brain structures and iFC among the three groups. Assessment of familiality was investigated by permutation tests for variance of the within-family pair difference. RESULTS We found that atypical gray matter volume in the mid-cingulate cortex was shared between male youth with ASD and their unaffected brothers as compared with TD males. Moreover, reduced iFC between the mid-cingulate cortex and the right inferior frontal gyrus, and increased iFC between the mid-cingulate cortex and bilateral middle occipital gyrus were the shared features of male ASD youth and unaffected brothers. CONCLUSIONS Atypical neuroanatomy and iFC surrounding the mid-cingulate cortex may be a potential endophenotypic marker for ASD in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- H-Y Lin
- Department of Psychiatry,National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine,Taipei,Taiwan
| | - W-Y I Tseng
- Institute of Medical Devices and Imaging System,National Taiwan University College of Medicine,Taipei,Taiwan
| | - M-C Lai
- Department of Psychiatry,National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine,Taipei,Taiwan
| | - Y-T Chang
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research,Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge,MA,USA
| | - S S-F Gau
- Department of Psychiatry,National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine,Taipei,Taiwan
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102
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Clawson A, South M, Baldwin SA, Larson MJ. Electrophysiological Endophenotypes and the Error-Related Negativity (ERN) in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Family Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47:1436-1452. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3066-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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103
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Jack A, Keifer CM, Pelphrey KA. Cerebellar contributions to biological motion perception in autism and typical development. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:1914-1932. [PMID: 28150911 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Revised: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests that posterior cerebellar lobe contributes to social perception in healthy adults. However, they know little about how this process varies across age and with development. Using cross-sectional fMRI data, they examined cerebellar response to biological (BIO) versus scrambled (SCRAM) motion within typically developing (TD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) samples (age 4-30 years old), characterizing cerebellar response and BIO > SCRAM-selective effective connectivity, as well as associations with age and social ability. TD individuals recruited regions throughout cerebellar posterior lobe during BIO > SCRAM, especially bilateral lobule VI, and demonstrated connectivity with right posterior superior temporal sulcus (RpSTS) in left VI, Crus I/II, and VIIIb. ASD individuals showed BIO > SCRAM activity in left VI and left Crus I/II, and bilateral connectivity with RpSTS in Crus I/II and VIIIb/IX. No between-group differences emerged in well-matched subsamples. Among TD individuals, older age predicted greater BIO > SCRAM response in left VIIb and left VIIIa/b, but reduced connectivity between RpSTS and widespread regions of the right cerebellum. In ASD, older age predicted greater response in left Crus I and bilateral Crus II, but decreased effective connectivity with RpSTS in bilateral Crus I/II. In ASD, increased BIO > SCRAM signal in left VI/Crus I and right Crus II, VIIb, and dentate predicted lower social symptomaticity; increased effective connectivity with RpSTS in right Crus I/II and bilateral VI and I-V predicted greater symptomaticity. These data suggest that posterior cerebellum contributes to the neurodevelopment of social perception in both basic and clinical populations. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1914-1932, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Jack
- George Washington University, Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, 44983 Knoll Square, Ashburn, VA, 20147
| | - Cara M Keifer
- Stony Brook University, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2500
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- George Washington University, Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, 44983 Knoll Square, Ashburn, VA, 20147.,Children's National Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, 111 Michigan Avenue, NW Washington, DC, 20010
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104
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Yang YJD, Sukhodolsky DG, Lei J, Dayan E, Pelphrey KA, Ventola P. Distinct neural bases of disruptive behavior and autism symptom severity in boys with autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 2017; 9:1. [PMID: 28115995 PMCID: PMC5240249 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-017-9183-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 02/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Disruptive behavior in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an important clinical problem, but its neural basis remains poorly understood. The current research aims to better understand the neural underpinnings of disruptive behavior in ASD, while addressing whether the neural basis is shared with or separable from that of core ASD symptoms. Methods Participants consisted of 48 male children and adolescents: 31 ASD (7 had high disruptive behavior) and 17 typically developing (TD) controls, well-matched on sex, age, and IQ. For ASD participants, autism symptom severity, disruptive behavior, anxiety symptoms, and ADHD symptoms were measured. All participants were scanned while viewing biological motion (BIO) and scrambled motion (SCR). Two fMRI contrasts were analyzed: social perception (BIO > SCR) and Default Mode Network (DMN) deactivation (fixation > BIO). Age and IQ were included as covariates of no interest in all analyses. Results First, the between-group analyses on BIO > SCR showed that ASD is characterized by hypoactivation in the social perception circuitry, and ASD with high or low disruptive behavior exhibited similar patterns of hypoactivation. Second, the between-group analyses on fixation > BIO showed that ASD with high disruptive behavior exhibited more restricted and less DMN deactivation, when compared to ASD with low disruptive behavior or TD. Third, the within-ASD analyses showed that (a) autism symptom severity (but not disruptive behavior) was uniquely associated with less activation in the social perception regions including the posterior superior temporal sulcus and inferior frontal gyrus; (b) disruptive behavior (but not autism symptom severity) was uniquely associated with less DMN deactivation in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and lateral parietal cortex; and (c) anxiety symptoms mediated the link between disruptive behavior and less DMN deactivation in both anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and MPFC, while ADHD symptoms mediated the link primarily in ACC. Conclusions In boys with ASD, disruptive behavior has a neural basis in reduced DMN deactivation, which is distinct and separable from that of core ASD symptoms, with the latter characterized by hypoactivation in the social perception circuitry. These differential neurobiological markers may potentially serve as neural targets or predictors for interventions when treating disruptive behavior vs. core symptoms in ASD. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s11689-017-9183-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y J Daniel Yang
- Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, The George Washington University and Children's National Health System, 2300 I St NW, Washington, DC 20052 USA ; Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519 USA
| | - Denis G Sukhodolsky
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519 USA
| | - Jiedi Lei
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519 USA ; Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP UK
| | - Eran Dayan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, The George Washington University and Children's National Health System, 2300 I St NW, Washington, DC 20052 USA
| | - Pamela Ventola
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519 USA
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105
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Gordon I, Jack A, Pretzsch CM, Vander Wyk B, Leckman JF, Feldman R, Pelphrey KA. Intranasal Oxytocin Enhances Connectivity in the Neural Circuitry Supporting Social Motivation and Social Perception in Children with Autism. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35054. [PMID: 27845765 PMCID: PMC5109935 DOI: 10.1038/srep35054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) has become a focus in investigations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The social deficits that characterize ASD may relate to reduced connectivity between brain sites on the mesolimbic reward pathway (nucleus accumbens; amygdala) that receive OT projections and contribute to social motivation, and cortical sites involved in social perception. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, we show that OT administration in ASD increases activity in brain regions important for perceiving social-emotional information. Further, OT enhances connectivity between nodes of the brain’s reward and socioemotional processing systems, and does so preferentially for social (versus nonsocial) stimuli. This effect is observed both while viewing coherent versus scrambled biological motion, and while listening to happy versus angry voices. Our findings suggest a mechanism by which intranasal OT may bolster social motivation—one that could, in future, be harnessed to augment behavioral treatments for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilanit Gordon
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.,Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Allison Jack
- Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, George Washington University, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | | | | | - James F Leckman
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.,Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, George Washington University, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
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106
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Lai MC, Lerch JP, Floris DL, Ruigrok AN, Pohl A, Lombardo MV, Baron-Cohen S. Imaging sex/gender and autism in the brain: Etiological implications. J Neurosci Res 2016; 95:380-397. [DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2016] [Revised: 09/04/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Chuan Lai
- Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Psychiatry; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario Canada
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry; University of Cambridge; Cambridge United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry; National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine; Taipei Taiwan
| | - Jason P. Lerch
- Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children; Toronto Ontario Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Dorothea L. Floris
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry; University of Cambridge; Cambridge United Kingdom
- New York University Child Study Center; New York New York USA
| | - Amber N.V. Ruigrok
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry; University of Cambridge; Cambridge United Kingdom
| | - Alexa Pohl
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry; University of Cambridge; Cambridge United Kingdom
| | - Michael V. Lombardo
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry; University of Cambridge; Cambridge United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology and Center of Applied Neuroscience; University of Cyprus; Nicosia Cyprus
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry; University of Cambridge; Cambridge United Kingdom
- CLASS Clinic, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust; Cambridge United Kingdom
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107
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Yang D, Pelphrey KA, Sukhodolsky DG, Crowley MJ, Dayan E, Dvornek NC, Venkataraman A, Duncan J, Staib L, Ventola P. Brain responses to biological motion predict treatment outcome in young children with autism. Transl Psychiatry 2016; 6:e948. [PMID: 27845779 PMCID: PMC5314125 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Revised: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are common yet complex neurodevelopmental disorders, characterized by social, communication and behavioral deficits. Behavioral interventions have shown favorable results-however, the promise of precision medicine in ASD is hampered by a lack of sensitive, objective neurobiological markers (neurobiomarkers) to identify subgroups of young children likely to respond to specific treatments. Such neurobiomarkers are essential because early childhood provides a sensitive window of opportunity for intervention, while unsuccessful intervention is costly to children, families and society. In young children with ASD, we show that functional magnetic resonance imaging-based stratification neurobiomarkers accurately predict responses to an evidence-based behavioral treatment-pivotal response treatment. Neural predictors were identified in the pretreatment levels of activity in response to biological vs scrambled motion in the neural circuits that support social information processing (superior temporal sulcus, fusiform gyrus, amygdala, inferior parietal cortex and superior parietal lobule) and social motivation/reward (orbitofrontal cortex, insula, putamen, pallidum and ventral striatum). The predictive value of our findings for individual children with ASD was supported by a multivariate pattern analysis with cross validation. Predicting who will respond to a particular treatment for ASD, we believe the current findings mark the very first evidence of prediction/stratification biomarkers in young children with ASD. The implications of the findings are far reaching and should greatly accelerate progress toward more precise and effective treatments for core deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Yang
- Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, The George Washington University and Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. E-mail or
| | - K A Pelphrey
- Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, The George Washington University and Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
| | - D G Sukhodolsky
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - M J Crowley
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - E Dayan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - N C Dvornek
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - A Venkataraman
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J Duncan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - L Staib
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - P Ventola
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. E-mail or
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108
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Pavlova MA. Sex and gender affect the social brain: Beyond simplicity. J Neurosci Res 2016; 95:235-250. [PMID: 27688155 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Revised: 07/06/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School; Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen; Tübingen Germany
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109
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Davidovic M, Jönsson EH, Olausson H, Björnsdotter M. Posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus Responses Predict Perceived Pleasantness of Skin Stroking. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:432. [PMID: 27679564 PMCID: PMC5020046 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Love and affection is expressed through a range of physically intimate gestures, including caresses. Recent studies suggest that posterior temporal lobe areas typically associated with visual processing of social cues also respond to interpersonal touch. Here, we asked whether these areas are selective to caress-like skin stroking. We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 23 healthy participants and compared brain responses to skin stroking and vibration. We did not find any significant differences between stroking and vibration in the posterior temporal lobe; however, right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) responses predicted healthy participant's perceived pleasantness of skin stroking, but not vibration. These findings link right pSTS responses to individual variability in perceived pleasantness of caress-like tactile stimuli. We speculate that the right pSTS may play a role in the translation of tactile stimuli into positively valenced, socially relevant interpersonal touch and that this system may be affected in disorders associated with impaired attachment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Davidovic
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
| | - Emma H. Jönsson
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
| | - Håkan Olausson
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping UniversityLinköping, Sweden
| | - Malin Björnsdotter
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping UniversityLinköping, Sweden
- Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
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110
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Clauss JA, Benningfield MM, Rao U, Blackford JU. Altered Prefrontal Cortex Function Marks Heightened Anxiety Risk in Children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2016; 55:809-16. [PMID: 27566122 PMCID: PMC5003319 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2016.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2015] [Revised: 05/24/2016] [Accepted: 06/23/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Anxiety disorders are prevalent and cause substantial disability. An important risk factor for anxiety disorders is inhibited temperament, the tendency to be shy and to avoid new situations. Inhibited adults have heightened amygdala activation and less flexible engagement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC); however, it remains unknown whether these brain alterations are present in inhibited children before the onset of anxiety disorders. METHOD A total of 37 children (18 inhibited and 19 uninhibited), 8 to 10 years of age, completed a task testing anticipation and viewing of threat stimuli and social stimuli in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Brain activation and functional connectivity were measured. RESULTS During the anticipation of threat stimuli, inhibited children failed to show the robust PFC engagement observed in the uninhibited children. In contrast, when viewing social stimuli, inhibited children had increased medial PFC and dorsolateral PFC activation. Connectivity analyses revealed a pattern of reduced connectivity between prefrontal and limbic regions and among distinct PFC regions in the inhibited group. The medial PFC emerged as a key hub of the altered PFC circuitry in inhibited children. CONCLUSION This study provides new evidence of a neural signature of vulnerability to anxiety disorders. By investigating both anticipation and response to images, we identified that high-risk, inhibited children have widespread alterations in PFC function and connectivity, characterized by an inability to proactively prepare for social threat combined with heightened reactivity to social stimuli. Thus, children at high risk for anxiety show significantly altered prefrontal cortical function and connectivity before the onset of anxiety disorders.
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111
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Ferri SL, Kreibich AS, Torre M, Piccoli CT, Dow H, Pallathra AA, Li H, Bilker WB, Gur RC, Abel T, Brodkin ES. Activation of basolateral amygdala in juvenile C57BL/6J mice during social approach behavior. Neuroscience 2016; 335:184-94. [PMID: 27520082 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2016] [Revised: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
There is a strong need to better understand the neurobiology of juvenile sociability (tendency to seek social interaction), a phenotype of central relevance to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although numerous genetic mouse models of ASD showing reduced sociability have been reported, and certain brain regions, such as the amygdala, have been implicated in sociability, there has been little emphasis on delineating brain structures and circuits activated during social interactions in the critical juvenile period of the mouse strain that serves as the most common genetic background for these models-the highly sociable C57BL/6J (B6) strain. We measured expression of the immediate early genes Fos and Egr-1 to map activation of brain regions following the Social Approach Test (SAT) in juvenile male B6 mice. We hypothesized that juvenile B6 mice would show activation of the amygdala during social interactions. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) was activated by social exposure in highly sociable, 4-week-old B6 mice. In light of these data, and the many lines of evidence indicating alteration of amygdala circuits in human ASD, future studies are warranted to assess structural and functional alterations in the BLA, particularly at BLA synapses, in various mouse models of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Ferri
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Smilow Center for Translational Research, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Building 421, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6168, USA
| | - Arati S Kreibich
- Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
| | - Matthew Torre
- Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
| | - Cara T Piccoli
- Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
| | - Holly Dow
- Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
| | - Ashley A Pallathra
- Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
| | - Hongzhe Li
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 215 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021, USA
| | - Warren B Bilker
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 215 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021, USA
| | - Ruben C Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 10 Gates Pavilion, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Ted Abel
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Smilow Center for Translational Research, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Building 421, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6168, USA
| | - Edward S Brodkin
- Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA.
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112
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Venkataraman A, Yang DYJ, Pelphrey KA, Duncan JS. Bayesian Community Detection in the Space of Group-Level Functional Differences. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING 2016; 35:1866-82. [PMID: 26955022 PMCID: PMC5510046 DOI: 10.1109/tmi.2016.2536559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We propose a unified Bayesian framework to detect both hyper- and hypo-active communities within whole-brain fMRI data. Specifically, our model identifies dense subgraphs that exhibit population-level differences in functional synchrony between a control and clinical group. We derive a variational EM algorithm to solve for the latent posterior distributions and parameter estimates, which subsequently inform us about the afflicted network topology. We demonstrate that our method provides valuable insights into the neural mechanisms underlying social dysfunction in autism, as verified by the Neurosynth meta-analytic database. In contrast, both univariate testing and community detection via recursive edge elimination fail to identify stable functional communities associated with the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Archana Venkataraman
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
| | - Daniel Y.-J. Yang
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
| | - Kevin A. Pelphrey
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
| | - James S. Duncan
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520 USA and also with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519 USA
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113
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Björnsdotter M, Wang N, Pelphrey K, Kaiser MD. Evaluation of Quantified Social Perception Circuit Activity as a Neurobiological Marker of Autism Spectrum Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry 2016; 73:614-21. [PMID: 27096285 PMCID: PMC6475601 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is marked by social disability and is associated with dysfunction in brain circuits supporting social cue perception. The degree to which neural functioning reflects individual-level behavioral phenotype is unclear, slowing the search for functional neuroimaging biomarkers of ASD. OBJECTIVE To examine whether quantified neural function in social perception circuits may serve as an individual-level marker of ASD in children and adolescents. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The cohort study was conducted at the Yale Child Study Center and involved children and adolescents diagnosed as having ASD and typically developing participants. Participants included a discovery cohort and a larger replication cohort. Individual-level social perception circuit functioning was assessed as functional magnetic resonance imaging brain responses to point-light displays of coherent vs scrambled human motion. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Outcome measures included performance of quantified brain responses in affected male and female participants in terms of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity, and correlations between brain responses and social behavior. RESULTS Of the 39 participants in the discovery cohort aged 4 to 17 years, 22 had ASD and 30 were boys. Of the 75 participants in the replication cohort aged 7 to 20 years, 37 had ASD and 52 were boys. A relative reduction in social perception circuit responses was identified in discovery cohort boys with ASD at an AUC of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.52-0.89; P = .01); however, typically developing girls and girls with ASD could not be distinguished (P = .54). The results were confirmed in the replication cohort, where brain responses were identified in boys with ASD at an AUC of 0.79 (95% CI, 0.64-0.91; P < .001) and failed to distinguish affected and unaffected girls (P = .82). Across both cohorts, boys were identified at an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI, 0.64-0.86) with corresponding sensitivity and specificity of 76% each. Additionally, brain responses were associated with social behavior in boys but not in girls. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Quantified social perception circuit activity is a promising individual-level candidate neural marker of the male ASD behavioral phenotype. Our findings highlight the need to better understand effects of sex on social perception processing in relation to ASD phenotype manifestations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Björnsdotter
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden,Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Nancy Wang
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Kevin Pelphrey
- Autism And Neurodevelopment Disorders Institute, The George Washington University and Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC
| | - Martha D. Kaiser
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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114
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Kim E, Kyeong S, Cheon KA, Park B, Oh MK, Chun JW, Park HJ, Kim JJ, Song DH. Neural responses to affective and cognitive theory of mind in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Neurosci Lett 2016; 621:117-125. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.04.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2015] [Revised: 03/31/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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115
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Abstract
Resilience and adaptation in the face of early genetic or environmental risk has become a major interest in child psychiatry over recent years. However, we still remain far from an understanding of how developing human brains as a whole adapt to the diffuse and widespread atypical synaptic function that may be characteristic of some common developmental disorders. The first part of this paper discusses four types of whole-brain adaptation in the face of early risk: redundancy, reorganization, niche construction, and adjustment of developmental rate. The second part of the paper applies these adaptation processes specifically to autism. We speculate that key features of autism may be the end result of processes of early brain adaptation, rather than the direct consequences of ongoing neural pathology.
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116
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Sully K, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Savage J, Fairchild G. Investigating the Familial Basis of Heightened Risk-Taking in Adolescents With Conduct Disorder and Their Unaffected Relatives. Dev Neuropsychol 2016; 41:93-106. [PMID: 27031280 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2016.1145223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated increased risk-taking in adolescents with Conduct Disorder (CD) compared with typically developing controls. Increased risk-taking may partly mediate the pathway from genetic or environmental risk to CD. We investigated the familial basis of risk-taking by examining whether the unaffected relatives of CD probands (n = 22) showed heightened risk-taking in a gambling task, in common with affected probands (n = 44). Adolescents with CD were more likely to select risky options than the typically developing controls (n = 37) and unaffected relatives. Our findings confirm the association between CD and increased risk-taking, but suggest that this decision-making style may not have a familial basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Sully
- a Academic Unit of Psychology , University of Southampton , Southampton , United Kingdom
| | - Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke
- a Academic Unit of Psychology , University of Southampton , Southampton , United Kingdom.,b Department of Experimental, Clinical and Health Psychology , Ghent University , Ghent , Belgium
| | - Justin Savage
- c School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , United Kingdom
| | - Graeme Fairchild
- a Academic Unit of Psychology , University of Southampton , Southampton , United Kingdom
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117
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Chawarska K, Macari S, Powell K, DiNicola L, Shic F. Enhanced Social Attention in Female Infant Siblings at Risk for Autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2016; 55:188-95.e1. [PMID: 26903252 PMCID: PMC5812780 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2015.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2015] [Revised: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Sexual dimorphism in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a well-recognized but poorly understood phenomenon. Females are four times less likely to be diagnosed with ASD than males and, when diagnosed, are more likely to exhibit comorbid anxiety symptoms. One of the key phenotypic features of ASD is atypical attention to socially relevant stimuli. Eye-tracking studies indicate atypical patterns of spontaneous social orienting during the prodromal and early syndromic stages of ASD. However, there have been no studies evaluating sex differences in early social orienting and their potential contribution to later outcomes. METHOD We examined sex differences in social orienting in 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old infants at high genetic risk for ASD (n = 101) and in low-risk controls (n = 61), focusing on neurobehavioral measures of function across a spectrum of autism risk. RESULTS Results suggest that, between 6 and 12 months of age, a period highly consequential for the development of nonverbal social engagement competencies, high-risk females show enhanced attention to social targets, including faces, compared to both high-risk males and low-risk males and females. Greater attention to social targets in high-risk infants was associated with less severe social impairments at 2 years. CONCLUSION The results suggest an alternative expression of autism risk in females, which manifests in infancy as increased attention toward socially relevant stimuli. This increased attention may serve as a female protective factor against ASD by providing increased access to social experiences in early development.
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118
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Abstract
We investigated the mechanisms by which Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) improves social communication in a case series of 10 preschool-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) identified brain responses during a biological motion perception task conducted prior to and following 16 weeks of PRT treatment. Overall, the neural systems supporting social perception in these 10 children were malleable through implementation of PRT; following treatment, neural responses were more similar to those of typically developing children (TD). However, at baseline, half of the children exhibited hypoactivation, relative to a group of TD children, in the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), and half exhibited hyperactivation in this region. Strikingly, the groups exhibited differential neural responses to treatment: The five children who exhibited hypoactivation at baseline evidenced increased activation in components of the reward system including the ventral striatum and putamen. The five children who exhibited hyperactivation at baseline evidenced decreased activation in subcortical regions critical for regulating the flow of stimulation and conveying signals of salience to the cortex-the thalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. Our results support further investigation into the differential effects of particular treatment strategies relative to specific neural targets. Identification of treatment strategies that address the patterns of neural vulnerability unique to each patient is consistent with the priority of creating individually tailored interventions customized to the behavioral and neural characteristics of a given person.
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119
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van Boxtel JJA, Dapretto M, Lu H. Intact recognition, but attenuated adaptation, for biological motion in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2016; 9:1103-1113. [PMID: 26808343 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Revised: 10/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Given the ecological importance of biological motion and its relevance to social cognition, considerable effort has been devoted over the past decade to studying biological motion perception in autism. However, previous studies have asked observers to detect or recognize briefly presented human actions placed in isolation, without spatial or temporal context. Research on typical populations has shown the influence of temporal context in biological motion perception: prolonged exposure to one action gives rise to an aftereffect that biases perception of a subsequently displayed action. Whether people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show such adaptation effects for biological motion stimuli remains unknown. To address this question, this study examined how well youth with ASD recognize ambiguous actions and adapt to recently-observed actions. Compared to typically-developing (TD) controls, youth with ASD showed no differences in perceptual boundaries between actions categories, indicating intact ability in recognizing actions. However, children with ASD showed weakened adaptation to biological motion. It is unlikely that the reduced action adaptability in autism was due to delayed developmental trajectory, as older children with ASD showed weaker adaptation to actions than younger children with ASD. Our results further suggest that high-level (i.e., action) processing weakens with age for children with ASD, but this change may be accompanied by a potentially compensatory mechanism based on more involvement of low-level (i.e., motion) processing. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1103-1113. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen J A van Boxtel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.
| | - Mirella Dapretto
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles
| | - Hongjing Lu
- Department of Psychology and Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles.,Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles
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120
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Higdon R, Earl RK, Stanberry L, Hudac CM, Montague E, Stewart E, Janko I, Choiniere J, Broomall W, Kolker N, Bernier RA, Kolker E. The promise of multi-omics and clinical data integration to identify and target personalized healthcare approaches in autism spectrum disorders. OMICS-A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2016; 19:197-208. [PMID: 25831060 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2015.0020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Complex diseases are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, creating a difficult challenge for diagnosis and defining subtypes. This review article describes how distinct disease subtypes can be identified through integration and analysis of clinical and multi-omics data. A broad shift toward molecular subtyping of disease using genetic and omics data has yielded successful results in cancer and other complex diseases. To determine molecular subtypes, patients are first classified by applying clustering methods to different types of omics data, then these results are integrated with clinical data to characterize distinct disease subtypes. An example of this molecular-data-first approach is in research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a spectrum of social communication disorders marked by tremendous etiological and phenotypic heterogeneity. In the case of ASD, omics data such as exome sequences and gene and protein expression data are combined with clinical data such as psychometric testing and imaging to enable subtype identification. Novel ASD subtypes have been proposed, such as CHD8, using this molecular subtyping approach. Broader use of molecular subtyping in complex disease research is impeded by data heterogeneity, diversity of standards, and ineffective analysis tools. The future of molecular subtyping for ASD and other complex diseases calls for an integrated resource to identify disease mechanisms, classify new patients, and inform effective treatment options. This in turn will empower and accelerate precision medicine and personalized healthcare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Higdon
- 1 Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis Laboratory, Seattle Children's Research Institute , Seattle, Washington
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121
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Joseph JE, Zhu X, Gundran A, Davies F, Clark JD, Ruble L, Glaser P, Bhatt RS. Typical and atypical neurodevelopment for face specialization: an FMRI study. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:1725-41. [PMID: 25479816 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2330-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their relatives process faces differently from typically developed (TD) individuals. In an fMRI face-viewing task, TD and undiagnosed sibling (SIB) children (5-18 years) showed face specialization in the right amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, with left fusiform and right amygdala face specialization increasing with age in TD subjects. SIBs showed extensive antero-medial temporal lobe activation for faces that was not present in any other group, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism. In ASD, face specialization was minimal but increased with age in the right fusiform and decreased with age in the left amygdala, suggesting atypical development of a frontal-amygdala-fusiform system which is strongly linked to detecting salience and processing facial information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane E Joseph
- Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Clinical Sciences Building, Room 325E, MSC 616, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA,
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122
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Sharer E, Crocetti D, Muschelli J, Barber AD, Nebel MB, Caffo BS, Pekar JJ, Mostofsky SH. Neural Correlates of Visuomotor Learning in Autism. J Child Neurol 2015; 30:1877-86. [PMID: 26350725 PMCID: PMC4941625 DOI: 10.1177/0883073815600869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Motor impairments are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder. The Serial Reaction Time Task, a well-established visuomotor sequence learning probe, has produced inconsistent behavioral findings in individuals with autism. Moreover, it remains unclear how underlying neural processes for visuomotor learning in children with autism compare to processes for typically developing children. Neural activity differences were assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a modified version of the Serial Reaction Time Task in children with and without autism. Though there was no group difference in visuomotor sequence learning, underlying patterns of neural activation significantly differed when comparing sequence (i.e., learning) to random (i.e., nonlearning) blocks. Children with autism demonstrated decreased activity in brain regions implicated in visuomotor sequence learning: superior temporal sulcus and posterior cingulate cortex. The findings implicate differences in brain mechanisms that support initial sequence learning in autism and can help explain behavioral observations of autism-associated impairments in skill development (motor, social, communicative) reliant on visuomotor integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Sharer
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Deana Crocetti
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - John Muschelli
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Anita D. Barber
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Mary Beth Nebel
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Brian S. Caffo
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jim J. Pekar
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland,FM Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stewart H. Mostofsky
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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123
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From the genetic architecture to synaptic plasticity in autism spectrum disorder. Nat Rev Neurosci 2015; 16:551-63. [PMID: 26289574 DOI: 10.1038/nrn3992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 591] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Genetics studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have identified several risk genes that are key regulators of synaptic plasticity. Indeed, many of the risk genes that have been linked to these disorders encode synaptic scaffolding proteins, receptors, cell adhesion molecules or proteins that are involved in chromatin remodelling, transcription, protein synthesis or degradation, or actin cytoskeleton dynamics. Changes in any of these proteins can increase or decrease synaptic strength or number and, ultimately, neuronal connectivity in the brain. In addition, when deleterious mutations occur, inefficient genetic buffering and impaired synaptic homeostasis may increase an individual's risk for ASD.
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124
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Alaerts K, Geerlings F, Herremans L, Swinnen SP, Verhoeven J, Sunaert S, Wenderoth N. Functional Organization of the Action Observation Network in Autism: A Graph Theory Approach. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137020. [PMID: 26317222 PMCID: PMC4552824 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ability to recognize, understand and interpret other's actions and emotions has been linked to the mirror system or action-observation-network (AON). Although variations in these abilities are prevalent in the neuro-typical population, persons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have deficits in the social domain and exhibit alterations in this neural network. METHOD Here, we examined functional network properties of the AON using graph theory measures and region-to-region functional connectivity analyses of resting-state fMRI-data from adolescents and young adults with ASD and typical controls (TC). RESULTS Overall, our graph theory analyses provided convergent evidence that the network integrity of the AON is altered in ASD, and that reductions in network efficiency relate to reductions in overall network density (i.e., decreased overall connection strength). Compared to TC, individuals with ASD showed significant reductions in network efficiency and increased shortest path lengths and centrality. Importantly, when adjusting for overall differences in network density between ASD and TC groups, participants with ASD continued to display reductions in network integrity, suggesting that also network-level organizational properties of the AON are altered in ASD. CONCLUSION While differences in empirical connectivity contributed to reductions in network integrity, graph theoretical analyses provided indications that also changes in the high-level network organization reduced integrity of the AON.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaat Alaerts
- Department of Kinesiology, Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Neuromotor Rehabilitation Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Franca Geerlings
- Department of Kinesiology, Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lynn Herremans
- Department of Kinesiology, Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stephan P. Swinnen
- Department of Kinesiology, Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Judith Verhoeven
- Department of Imaging & Pathology, Translational MRI, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stefan Sunaert
- Department of Imaging & Pathology, Translational MRI, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicole Wenderoth
- Department Health Sciences and Technology, Neural Control of Movement Lab, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
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125
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Elsabbagh M, Bruno R, Wan MW, Charman T, Johnson MH, Green J. Infant neural sensitivity to dynamic eye gaze relates to quality of parent-infant interaction at 7-months in infants at risk for autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:283-91. [PMID: 25074759 PMCID: PMC4309912 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2192-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Links between brain function measures and quality of parent-child interactions within the early developmental period have been investigated in typical and atypical development. We examined such links in a group of 104 infants with and without a family history for autism in the first year of life. Our findings suggest robust associations between event related potential responses to eye gaze and observed parent-infant interaction measures. In both groups, infants with more positive affect exhibit stronger differentiation to gaze stimuli. This association was observed with the earlier P100 waveform component in the control group but with the later P400 component in infants at-risk. These exploratory findings are critical in paving the way for a better understanding of how infant laboratory measures may relate to overt behavior and how both can be combined in the context of predicting risk or clinical diagnosis in toddlerhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayada Elsabbagh
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada,
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126
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has a strong genetic basis, and is heterogeneous in its etiopathogenesis and clinical presentation. Neuroimaging studies, in concert with neuropathological and clinical research, have been instrumental in delineating trajectories of development in children with ASD. Structural neuroimaging has revealed ASD to be a disorder with general and regional brain enlargement, especially in the frontotemporal cortices, while functional neuroimaging studies have highlighted diminished connectivity, especially between frontal-posterior regions. The diverse and specific neuroimaging findings may represent potential neuroendophenotypes, and may offer opportunities to further understand the etiopathogenesis of ASD, predict treatment response, and lead to the development of new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajneesh Mahajan
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research (CNIR), Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stewart H. Mostofsky
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research (CNIR), Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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127
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Hudac CM, Kresse A, Aaronson B, DesChamps TD, Webb SJ, Bernier RA. Modulation of mu attenuation to social stimuli in children and adults with 16p11.2 deletions and duplications. J Neurodev Disord 2015; 7:25. [PMID: 26213586 PMCID: PMC4514956 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-015-9118-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Accepted: 06/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Copy number variations (CNV) within the recurrent ~600 kb chromosomal locus of 16p11.2 are associated with a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little is known about the social brain phenotype of 16p11.2 CNV and how this phenotype is related to the social impairments associated with CNVs at this locus. The aim of this preliminary study was to use molecular subtyping to establish the social brain phenotype of individuals with 16p11.2 CNV and how these patterns relate to typical development and ASD. METHODS We evaluated the social brain phenotype as expressed by mu attenuation in 48 children and adults characterized as duplication carriers (n = 12), deletion carriers (n = 12), individuals with idiopathic ASD (n = 8), and neurotypical controls (n = 16). Participants watched videos containing social and nonsocial motion during electroencephalogram (EEG) acquisition. RESULTS Overall, only the typical group exhibited predicted patterns of mu modulation to social information (e.g., greater mu attenuation for social than nonsocial motion). Both 16p11.2 CNV groups exhibited more mu attenuation for nonsocial than social motion. The ASD group did not discriminate between conditions and demonstrated less mu attenuation compared to the typical and duplication carriers. Single-trial analysis indicated that mu attenuation decreased over time more rapidly for 16p11.2 CNV groups than the typical group. The duplication group did not diverge from typical patterns of mu attenuation until after initial exposure. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate atypical but unique patterns of mu attenuation for deletion and duplication carriers, highlighting the need to continue characterizing the social brain phenotype associated with 16p11.2 CNVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin M. Hudac
- />Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street #115, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Anna Kresse
- />Seattle Children’s Research Institute, 2001 8th Avenue #400, Seattle, WA 98121 USA
| | - Benjamin Aaronson
- />Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street #115, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Trent D. DesChamps
- />Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street #115, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Sara Jane Webb
- />Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street #115, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
- />Seattle Children’s Research Institute, 2001 8th Avenue #400, Seattle, WA 98121 USA
| | - Raphael A. Bernier
- />Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street #115, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
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128
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Sully K, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Fairchild G. The familial basis of facial emotion recognition deficits in adolescents with conduct disorder and their unaffected relatives. Psychol Med 2015; 45:1965-1975. [PMID: 25607818 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291714003080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is accumulating evidence of impairments in facial emotion recognition in adolescents with conduct disorder (CD). However, the majority of studies in this area have only been able to demonstrate an association, rather than a causal link, between emotion recognition deficits and CD. To move closer towards understanding the causal pathways linking emotion recognition problems with CD, we studied emotion recognition in the unaffected first-degree relatives of CD probands, as well as those with a diagnosis of CD. METHOD Using a family-based design, we investigated facial emotion recognition in probands with CD (n = 43), their unaffected relatives (n = 21), and healthy controls (n = 38). We used the Emotion Hexagon task, an alternative forced-choice task using morphed facial expressions depicting the six primary emotions, to assess facial emotion recognition accuracy. RESULTS Relative to controls, the CD group showed impaired recognition of anger, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise (all p < 0.005). Similar to probands with CD, unaffected relatives showed deficits in anger and happiness recognition relative to controls (all p < 0.008), with a trend toward a deficit in fear recognition. There were no significant differences in performance between the CD probands and the unaffected relatives following correction for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that facial emotion recognition deficits are present in adolescents who are at increased familial risk for developing antisocial behaviour, as well as those who have already developed CD. Consequently, impaired emotion recognition appears to be a viable familial risk marker or candidate endophenotype for CD.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Sully
- Academic Unit of Psychology,University of Southampton,Southampton,UK
| | | | - G Fairchild
- Academic Unit of Psychology,University of Southampton,Southampton,UK
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129
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Blasi A, Lloyd-Fox S, Sethna V, Brammer MJ, Mercure E, Murray L, Williams SCR, Simmons A, Murphy DGM, Johnson MH. Atypical processing of voice sounds in infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder. Cortex 2015. [PMID: 26200892 PMCID: PMC4582069 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show a reduced sensitivity (degree of selective response) to social stimuli such as human voices. In order to determine whether this reduced sensitivity is a consequence of years of poor social interaction and communication or is present prior to significant experience, we used functional MRI to examine cortical sensitivity to auditory stimuli in infants at high familial risk for later emerging ASD (HR group, N = 15), and compared this to infants with no family history of ASD (LR group, N = 18). The infants (aged between 4 and 7 months) were presented with voice and environmental sounds while asleep in the scanner and their behaviour was also examined in the context of observed parent–infant interaction. Whereas LR infants showed early specialisation for human voice processing in right temporal and medial frontal regions, the HR infants did not. Similarly, LR infants showed stronger sensitivity than HR infants to sad vocalisations in the right fusiform gyrus and left hippocampus. Also, in the HR group only, there was an association between each infant's degree of engagement during social interaction and the degree of voice sensitivity in key cortical regions. These results suggest that at least some infants at high-risk for ASD have atypical neural responses to human voice with and without emotional valence. Further exploration of the relationship between behaviour during social interaction and voice processing may help better understand the mechanisms that lead to different outcomes in at risk populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Blasi
- Birkbeck, University of London, Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, UK; King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Sackler Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, UK.
| | - Sarah Lloyd-Fox
- Birkbeck, University of London, Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, UK
| | - Vaheshta Sethna
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Sackler Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, UK
| | - Michael J Brammer
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Sackler Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, UK
| | - Evelyne Mercure
- University College London, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UK
| | - Lynne Murray
- University of Reading, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, UK; Stellenbosch University, South Africa
| | - Steven C R Williams
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Sackler Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, UK; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, UK
| | - Andrew Simmons
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Sackler Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, UK; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, UK
| | - Declan G M Murphy
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Sackler Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, UK; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, UK
| | - Mark H Johnson
- Birkbeck, University of London, Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, UK
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130
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Kaiser MD, Yang DYJ, Voos AC, Bennett RH, Gordon I, Pretzsch C, Beam D, Keifer C, Eilbott J, McGlone F, Pelphrey KA. Brain Mechanisms for Processing Affective (and Nonaffective) Touch Are Atypical in Autism. Cereb Cortex 2015; 26:2705-14. [PMID: 26048952 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
C-tactile (CT) afferents encode caress-like touch that supports social-emotional development, and stimulation of the CT system engages the insula and cortical circuitry involved in social-emotional processing. Very few neuroimaging studies have investigated the neural mechanisms of touch processing in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who often exhibit atypical responses to touch. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we evaluated the hypothesis that children and adolescents with ASD would exhibit atypical brain responses to CT-targeted touch. Children and adolescents with ASD, relative to typically developing (TD) participants, exhibited reduced activity in response to CT-targeted (arm) versus non-CT-targeted (palm) touch in a network of brain regions known to be involved in social-emotional information processing including bilateral insula and insular operculum, the right posterior superior temporal sulcus, bilateral temporoparietal junction extending into the inferior parietal lobule, right fusiform gyrus, right amygdala, and bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex including the inferior frontal and precentral gyri, suggesting atypical social brain hypoactivation. Individuals with ASD (vs. TD) showed an enhanced response to non-CT-targeted versus CT-targeted touch in the primary somatosensory cortex, suggesting atypical sensory cortical hyper-reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha D Kaiser
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Daniel Y-J Yang
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Avery C Voos
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Randi H Bennett
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Ilanit Gordon
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Charlotte Pretzsch
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Danielle Beam
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Cara Keifer
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Jeffrey Eilbott
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | | | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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131
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Gu X, Eilam-Stock T, Zhou T, Anagnostou E, Kolevzon A, Soorya L, Hof PR, Friston KJ, Fan J. Autonomic and brain responses associated with empathy deficits in autism spectrum disorder. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:3323-38. [PMID: 25995134 PMCID: PMC4545680 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2015] [Revised: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 05/03/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that autonomic signals and their cortical representations are closely linked to emotional processes, and that related abnormalities could lead to social deficits. Although socio‐emotional impairments are a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), empirical evidence directly supporting the link between autonomic, cortical, and socio‐emotional abnormalities in ASD is still lacking. In this study, we examined autonomic arousal indexed by skin conductance responses (SCR), concurrent cortical responses measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging, and effective brain connectivity estimated by dynamic causal modeling in seventeen unmedicated high‐functioning adults with ASD and seventeen matched controls while they performed an empathy‐for‐pain task. Compared to controls, adults with ASD showed enhanced SCR related to empathetic pain, along with increased neural activity in the anterior insular cortex, although their behavioral empathetic pain discriminability was reduced and overall SCR was decreased. ASD individuals also showed enhanced correlation between SCR and neural activities in the anterior insular cortex. Importantly, significant group differences in effective brain connectivity were limited to greater reduction in the negative intrinsic connectivity of the anterior insular cortex in the ASD group, indicating a failure in attenuating anterior insular responses to empathetic pain. These results suggest that aberrant interoceptive precision, as indexed by abnormalities in autonomic activity and its central representations, may underlie empathy deficits in ASD. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3323–3338, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published byWiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaosi Gu
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Virignia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, Virignia
| | - Tehila Eilam-Stock
- Department of Psychology, Queens College, The City University of New York, Flushing, New York.,The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, New York.,Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Thomas Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Queens College, The City University of New York, Flushing, New York
| | | | - Alexander Kolevzon
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.,Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | | | - Patrick R Hof
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.,Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.,Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jin Fan
- Department of Psychology, Queens College, The City University of New York, Flushing, New York.,The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, New York.,Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.,Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.,Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.,Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
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132
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Kana RK, Patriquin MA, Black BS, Channell MM, Wicker B. Altered Medial Frontal and Superior Temporal Response to Implicit Processing of Emotions in Autism. Autism Res 2015; 9:55-66. [PMID: 25962831 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2015] [Accepted: 04/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Interpreting emotional expressions appropriately poses a challenge for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In particular, difficulties with emotional processing in ASD are more pronounced in contexts where emotional expressions are subtle, automatic, and reflexive-that is, implicit. In contrast, explicit emotional processing, which requires the cognitive evaluation of an emotional experience, appears to be relatively intact in individuals with ASD. In the present study, we examined the brain activation and functional connectivity differences underlying explicit and implicit emotional processing in age- and IQ-matched adults with (n = 17) and without (n = 15) ASD. Results indicated: (1) significantly reduced levels of brain activation in participants with ASD in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and superior temporal gyrus (STG) during implicit emotion processing; (2) significantly weaker functional connectivity in the ASD group in connections of the MPFC with the amygdala, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and fusiform gyrus; (3) No group difference in performance accuracy or reaction time; and (4) Significant positive relationship between empathizing ability and STG activity in ASD but not in typically developing participants. These findings suggest that the neural mechanisms underlying implicit, but not explicit, emotion processing may be altered at multiple levels in individuals with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajesh K. Kana
- Department of Psychology; University of Alabama at Birmingham; USA
| | | | - Briley S. Black
- Department of Psychology; University of Alabama at Birmingham; USA
| | | | - Bruno Wicker
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS & Aix-Marseille Université; France
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133
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Venkataraman A, Duncan JS, Yang DYJ, Pelphrey KA. An unbiased Bayesian approach to functional connectomics implicates social-communication networks in autism. Neuroimage Clin 2015; 8:356-66. [PMID: 26106561 PMCID: PMC4474177 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2014] [Revised: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 04/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) studies reveal a complex pattern of hyper- and hypo-connectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Whereas rsfMRI findings tend to implicate the default mode network and subcortical areas in ASD, task fMRI and behavioral experiments point to social dysfunction as a unifying impairment of the disorder. Here, we leverage a novel Bayesian framework for whole-brain functional connectomics that aggregates population differences in connectivity to localize a subset of foci that are most affected by ASD. Our approach is entirely data-driven and does not impose spatial constraints on the region foci or dictate the trajectory of altered functional pathways. We apply our method to data from the openly shared Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) and pinpoint two intrinsic functional networks that distinguish ASD patients from typically developing controls. One network involves foci in the right temporal pole, left posterior cingulate cortex, left supramarginal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus. Automated decoding of this network by the Neurosynth meta-analytic database suggests high-level concepts of "language" and "comprehension" as the likely functional correlates. The second network consists of the left banks of the superior temporal sulcus, right posterior superior temporal sulcus extending into temporo-parietal junction, and right middle temporal gyrus. Associated functionality of these regions includes "social" and "person". The abnormal pathways emanating from the above foci indicate that ASD patients simultaneously exhibit reduced long-range or inter-hemispheric connectivity and increased short-range or intra-hemispheric connectivity. Our findings reveal new insights into ASD and highlight possible neural mechanisms of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Archana Venkataraman
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - James S. Duncan
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Daniel Y.-J. Yang
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kevin A. Pelphrey
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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134
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Bolling DZ, Pelphrey KA, Vander Wyk BC. Trait-level temporal lobe hypoactivation to social exclusion in unaffected siblings of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2015; 13:75-83. [PMID: 26011751 PMCID: PMC4470300 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2013] [Revised: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 04/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain responses to social exclusion were measured in ASD unaffected siblings. Unaffected siblings show trait atypical activation in posterior temporal lobe. Biological vulnerability moderates relationship between IQ and brain responses.
Social exclusion elicits powerful feelings of negative affect associated with rejection. Additionally, experiencing social exclusion reliably recruits neural circuitry associated with emotion processing. Recent work has demonstrated abnormal neural responses to social exclusion in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, it remains unknown to what extent these abnormalities are due to atypical social experiences versus genetic predispositions to atypical neural processing. To address this question, the current study investigated brain responses to social exclusion compared to a baseline condition of fair play in unaffected siblings of youth with ASD using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We identified common deviations between unaffected siblings and ASD probands that might represent trait-level abnormalities in processing Social Exclusion vs. Fair Play, specifically in the right anterior temporoparietal junction extending into posterior superior temporal sulcus. Thus, hypoactivation to Social Exclusion vs. Fair Play in this region may represent a shared genetic vulnerability to developing autism. In addition, we present evidence supporting the idea that one's status as an unaffected sibling moderates the relationship between IQ and neural activation to Social Exclusion vs. Fair Play in anterior cingulate cortex. These results are discussed in the context of previous literature on neural endophenotypes of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Z Bolling
- Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Rd. New Haven, CT 06520 USA.
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Rd. New Haven, CT 06520 USA
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135
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Abstract
Autistic traits span a wide spectrum of behavioral departures from typical function. Despite the heterogeneous nature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there have been attempts at formulating unified theoretical accounts of the associated impairments in social cognition. A class of prominent theories capitalizes on the link between social interaction and visual perception: effective interaction with others often relies on discrimination of subtle nonverbal cues. It has been proposed that individuals with ASD may rely on poorer perceptual representations of other people's actions as returned by dysfunctional visual circuitry and that this, in turn, may lead to less effective interpretation of those actions for social behavior. It remains unclear whether such perceptual deficits exist in ASD: the evidence currently available is limited to specific aspects of action recognition, and the reported deficits are often attributable to cognitive factors that may not be strictly visual (e.g., attention). We present results from an exhaustive set of measurements spanning the entire action processing hierarchy, from motion detection to action interpretation, designed to factor out effects that are not selectively relevant to this function. Our results demonstrate that the ASD perceptual system returns functionally intact signals for interpreting other people's actions adequately; these signals can be accessed effectively when autistic individuals are prompted and motivated to do so under controlled conditions. However, they may fail to exploit them adequately during real-life social interactions.
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136
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Baumann O, Borra RJ, Bower JM, Cullen KE, Habas C, Ivry RB, Leggio M, Mattingley JB, Molinari M, Moulton EA, Paulin MG, Pavlova MA, Schmahmann JD, Sokolov AA. Consensus paper: the role of the cerebellum in perceptual processes. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2015; 14:197-220. [PMID: 25479821 PMCID: PMC4346664 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-014-0627-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 287] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Various lines of evidence accumulated over the past 30 years indicate that the cerebellum, long recognized as essential for motor control, also has considerable influence on perceptual processes. In this paper, we bring together experts from psychology and neuroscience, with the aim of providing a succinct but comprehensive overview of key findings related to the involvement of the cerebellum in sensory perception. The contributions cover such topics as anatomical and functional connectivity, evolutionary and comparative perspectives, visual and auditory processing, biological motion perception, nociception, self-motion, timing, predictive processing, and perceptual sequencing. While no single explanation has yet emerged concerning the role of the cerebellum in perceptual processes, this consensus paper summarizes the impressive empirical evidence on this problem and highlights diversities as well as commonalities between existing hypotheses. In addition to work with healthy individuals and patients with cerebellar disorders, it is also apparent that several neurological conditions in which perceptual disturbances occur, including autism and schizophrenia, are associated with cerebellar pathology. A better understanding of the involvement of the cerebellum in perceptual processes will thus likely be important for identifying and treating perceptual deficits that may at present go unnoticed and untreated. This paper provides a useful framework for further debate and empirical investigations into the influence of the cerebellum on sensory perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Baumann
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia,
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137
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Aoki Y, Watanabe T, Abe O, Kuwabara H, Yahata N, Takano Y, Iwashiro N, Natsubori T, Takao H, Kawakubo Y, Kasai K, Yamasue H. Oxytocin's neurochemical effects in the medial prefrontal cortex underlie recovery of task-specific brain activity in autism: a randomized controlled trial. Mol Psychiatry 2015; 20:447-53. [PMID: 25070538 PMCID: PMC4378254 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2014.74] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2014] [Revised: 05/02/2014] [Accepted: 06/06/2014] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin may be an effective therapeutic strategy for the currently untreatable social and communication deficits associated with autism. Our recent paper reported that oxytocin mitigated autistic behavioral deficits through the restoration of activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), as demonstrated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a socio-communication task. However, it is unknown whether oxytocin exhibited effects at the neuronal level, which was outside of the specific task examined. In the same randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject cross-over clinical trial in which a single dose of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) was administered to 40 men with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (UMIN000002241/000004393), we measured N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels, a marker for neuronal energy demand, in the vmPFC using (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS). The differences in the NAA levels between the oxytocin and placebo sessions were associated with oxytocin-induced fMRI signal changes in the vmPFC. The oxytocin-induced increases in the fMRI signal could be predicted by the NAA differences between the oxytocin and placebo sessions (P=0.002), an effect that remained after controlling for variability in the time between the fMRI and (1)H-MRS scans (P=0.006) and the order of administration of oxytocin and placebo (P=0.001). Furthermore, path analysis showed that the NAA differences in the vmPFC triggered increases in the task-dependent fMRI signals in the vmPFC, which consequently led to improvements in the socio-communication difficulties associated with autism. The present study suggests that the beneficial effects of oxytocin are not limited to the autistic behavior elicited by our psychological task, but may generalize to other autistic behavioral problems associated with the vmPFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Aoki
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - T Watanabe
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan,Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - O Abe
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan,Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - H Kuwabara
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - N Yahata
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Y Takano
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - N Iwashiro
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - T Natsubori
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - H Takao
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Y Kawakubo
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - K Kasai
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - H Yamasue
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan,Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, Tokyo, Japan,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan. E-mail:
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138
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McDowell MJ. Autism’s Direct Cause? Failure of Infant-Mother Eye Contact in a Complex Adaptive System. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1162/biot_a_00061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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139
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Lancaster K, Carter CS, Pournajafi-Nazarloo H, Karaoli T, Lillard TS, Jack A, Davis JM, Morris JP, Connelly JJ. Plasma oxytocin explains individual differences in neural substrates of social perception. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:132. [PMID: 25852519 PMCID: PMC4362216 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Accepted: 02/26/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin plays a critical role in social cognition and behavior. A number of studies using intranasal administration have demonstrated that oxytocin improves social perception. However, little is known about the relationship between individual differences in endogenous levels of oxytocin and social cognition. In the current study, we assessed the relationship between endogenous oxytocin and brain activity during an animacy perception paradigm. Thirty-seven male participants underwent scanning and provided a blood sample for oxytocin analysis. In line with previous research, perception of animacy was associated with activations in superior temporal sulcus, inferior frontal gyrus, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Notably, participants’ levels of plasma oxytocin robustly predicted activation in areas critical for social cognitive processes, such that higher oxytocin levels were related to increased activity in dorsal mPFC, ventral mPFC, dorsolateral PFC, superior temporal gyrus, and temporoparietal junction (TPJ), suggesting differential processing of social stimuli. Together these results show that stable variations in endogenous oxytocin levels explain individual differences in social perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Lancaster
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - C Sue Carter
- Kinsey Institute and Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA
| | | | - Themistoclis Karaoli
- Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Travis S Lillard
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Allison Jack
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University New Haven, CT, USA
| | - John M Davis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL, USA
| | - James P Morris
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Jessica J Connelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA, USA
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140
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Libero LE, DeRamus TP, Lahti AC, Deshpande G, Kana RK. Multimodal neuroimaging based classification of autism spectrum disorder using anatomical, neurochemical, and white matter correlates. Cortex 2015; 66:46-59. [PMID: 25797658 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2014] [Revised: 10/13/2014] [Accepted: 02/23/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Neuroimaging techniques, such as fMRI, structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) have uncovered evidence for widespread functional and anatomical brain abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggesting it to be a system-wide neural systems disorder. Nevertheless, most previous studies have focused on examining one index of neuropathology through a single neuroimaging modality, and seldom using multiple modalities to examine the same cohort of individuals. The current study aims to bring together multiple brain imaging modalities (structural MRI, DTI, and 1H-MRS) to investigate the neural architecture in the same set of individuals (19 high-functioning adults with ASD and 18 typically developing (TD) peers). Morphometry analysis revealed increased cortical thickness in ASD participants, relative to typical controls, across the left cingulate, left pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, left inferior temporal cortex, and right precuneus, and reduced cortical thickness in right cuneus and right precentral gyrus. ASD adults also had reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased radial diffusivity (RD) for two clusters on the forceps minor of the corpus callosum, revealed by DTI analyses. 1H-MRS results showed a reduction in the N-acetylaspartate/Creatine ratio in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) in ASD participants. A decision tree classification analysis across the three modalities resulted in classification accuracy of 91.9% with FA, RD, and cortical thickness as key predictors. Examining the same cohort of adults with ASD and their TD peers, this study found alterations in cortical thickness, white matter (WM) connectivity, and neurochemical concentration in ASD. These findings underscore the potential for multimodal imaging to better inform on the neural characteristics most relevant to the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Libero
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Thomas P DeRamus
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Adrienne C Lahti
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Gopikrishna Deshpande
- Auburn University MRI Research Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA; Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Rajesh K Kana
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
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141
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Klin A, Shultz S, Jones W. Social visual engagement in infants and toddlers with autism: early developmental transitions and a model of pathogenesis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 50:189-203. [PMID: 25445180 PMCID: PMC4355308 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2014] [Revised: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 10/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Efforts to determine and understand the causes of autism are currently hampered by a large disconnect between recent molecular genetics findings that are associated with the condition and the core behavioral symptoms that define the condition. In this perspective piece, we propose a systems biology framework to bridge that gap between genes and symptoms. The framework focuses on basic mechanisms of socialization that are highly-conserved in evolution and are early-emerging in development. By conceiving of these basic mechanisms of socialization as quantitative endophenotypes, we hope to connect genes and behavior in autism through integrative studies of neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and epigenetic changes. These changes both lead to and are led by the accomplishment of specific social adaptive tasks in a typical infant's life. However, based on recent research that indicates that infants later diagnosed with autism fail to accomplish at least some of these tasks, we suggest that a narrow developmental period, spanning critical transitions from reflexive, subcortically-controlled visual behavior to interactional, cortically-controlled and social visual behavior be prioritized for future study. Mapping epigenetic, neural, and behavioral changes that both drive and are driven by these early transitions may shed a bright light on the pathogenesis of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ami Klin
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta & Emory University School of Medicine, 1920 Briarcliff Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
| | - Sarah Shultz
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta & Emory University School of Medicine, 1920 Briarcliff Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States
| | - Warren Jones
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta & Emory University School of Medicine, 1920 Briarcliff Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States
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142
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Meredith R. Sensitive and critical periods during neurotypical and aberrant neurodevelopment: A framework for neurodevelopmental disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 50:180-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2014] [Revised: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 12/01/2014] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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143
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Yang DYJ, Rosenblau G, Keifer C, Pelphrey KA. An integrative neural model of social perception, action observation, and theory of mind. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 51:263-75. [PMID: 25660957 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2014] [Revised: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 01/23/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In the field of social neuroscience, major branches of research have been instrumental in describing independent components of typical and aberrant social information processing, but the field as a whole lacks a comprehensive model that integrates different branches. We review existing research related to the neural basis of three key neural systems underlying social information processing: social perception, action observation, and theory of mind. We propose an integrative model that unites these three processes and highlights the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), which plays a central role in all three systems. Furthermore, we integrate these neural systems with the dual system account of implicit and explicit social information processing. Large-scale meta-analyses based on Neurosynth confirmed that the pSTS is at the intersection of the three neural systems. Resting-state functional connectivity analysis with 1000 subjects confirmed that the pSTS is connected to all other regions in these systems. The findings presented in this review are specifically relevant for psychiatric research especially disorders characterized by social deficits such as autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Y-J Yang
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Gabriela Rosenblau
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Cara Keifer
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Center for Translational Developmental Neuroscience, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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144
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Azuma R, Deeley Q, Campbell LE, Daly EM, Giampietro V, Brammer MJ, Murphy KC, Murphy DGM. An fMRI study of facial emotion processing in children and adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. J Neurodev Disord 2015; 7:1. [PMID: 25972975 PMCID: PMC4429366 DOI: 10.1186/1866-1955-7-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 12/08/2014] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS, velo-cardio-facial syndrome [VCFS]) is a genetic disorder associated with interstitial deletions of chromosome 22q11.2. In addition to high rates of neuropsychiatric disorders, children with 22q11DS have impairments of face processing, as well as IQ-independent deficits in visuoperceptual function and social and abstract reasoning. These face-processing deficits may contribute to the social impairments of 22q11DS. However, their neurobiological basis is poorly understood. METHODS We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural responses when children with 22q11DS (aged 9-17 years) and healthy controls (aged 8-17 years) incidentally processed neutral expressions and mild (50%) and intense (100%) expressions of fear and disgust. We included 28 right-handed children and adolescents: 14 with 22q11DS and 14 healthy (including nine siblings) controls. RESULTS Within groups, contrasts showed that individuals significantly activated 'face responsive' areas when viewing neutral faces, including fusiform-extrastriate cortices. Further, within both groups, there was a significant positive linear trend in activation of fusiform-extrastriate cortices and cerebellum to increasing intensities of fear. There were, however, also between-group differences. Children with 22q11DS generally showed reduced activity as compared to controls in brain regions involved in social cognition and emotion processing across emotion types and intensities, including fusiform-extrastriate cortices, anterior cingulate cortex (Brodmann area (BA) 24/32), and superomedial prefrontal cortices (BA 6). Also, an exploratory correlation analysis showed that within 22q11DS children reduced activation was associated with behavioural impairment-social difficulties (measured using the Total Difficulties Score from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]) were significantly negatively correlated with brain activity during fear and disgust processing (respectively) in the left precentral gyrus (BA 4) and in the left fusiform gyrus (FG, BA 19), right lingual gyrus (BA 18), and bilateral cerebellum. CONCLUSIONS Regions involved in face processing, including fusiform-extrastriate cortices, anterior cingulate gyri, and superomedial prefrontal cortices (BA 6), are activated by facial expressions of fearful, disgusted, and neutral expressions in children with 22q11DS but generally to a lesser degree than in controls. Hypoactivation in these regions may partly explain the social impairments of children with 22q11DS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rayna Azuma
- />School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
- />Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Quinton Deeley
- />Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK
- />National Autism Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, SLAM NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Linda E Campbell
- />School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
| | - Eileen M Daly
- />Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Vincent Giampietro
- />Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Michael J Brammer
- />Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Kieran C Murphy
- />Department of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Declan GM Murphy
- />Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK
- />Institute of Psychiatry, Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, King’s College London, London, UK
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145
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Chmielewski WX, Beste C. Action control processes in autism spectrum disorder – Insights from a neurobiological and neuroanatomical perspective. Prog Neurobiol 2015; 124:49-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2014.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2014] [Revised: 11/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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146
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Visual abilities are important for auditory-only speech recognition: Evidence from autism spectrum disorder. Neuropsychologia 2014; 65:1-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.09.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2014] [Revised: 08/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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147
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Holt RJ, Chura LR, Lai MC, Suckling J, von dem Hagen E, Calder AJ, Bullmore ET, Baron-Cohen S, Spencer MD. 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes': an fMRI study of adolescents with autism and their siblings. Psychol Med 2014; 44:3215-27. [PMID: 25065819 PMCID: PMC6345365 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291714000233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mentalizing deficits are a hallmark of the autism spectrum condition (ASC) and a potential endophenotype for atypical social cognition in ASC. Differences in performance and neural activation on the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' task (the Eyes task) have been identified in individuals with ASC in previous studies. METHOD Performance on the Eyes task along with the associated neural activation was examined in adolescents with ASC (n = 50), their unaffected siblings (n = 40) and typically developing controls (n = 40). Based on prior literature that males and females with ASC display different cognitive and associated neural characteristics, analyses were stratified by sex. Three strategies were applied to test for endophenotypes at the level of neural activation: (1) identifying and locating conjunctions of ASC-control and sibling-control differences; (2) examining whether the sibling group is comparable to the ASC or intermediate between the ASC and control groups; and (3) examining spatial overlaps between ASC-control and sibling-control differences across multiple thresholds. RESULTS Impaired behavioural performance on the Eyes task was observed in males with ASC compared to controls, but only at trend level in females; and no difference in performance was identified between sibling and same-sex control groups in both sexes. Neural activation showed a substantial endophenotype effect in the female groups but this was only modest in the male groups. CONCLUSIONS Behavioural impairment on complex emotion recognition associated with mental state attribution is a phenotypic, rather than an endophenotypic, marker of ASC. However, the neural response during the Eyes task is a potential endophenotypic marker for ASC, particularly in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. J. Holt
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - L. R. Chura
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - M.-C. Lai
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - J. Suckling
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
- Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - A. J. Calder
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
| | - E. T. Bullmore
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
- Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - S. Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
- Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - M. D. Spencer
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
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148
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Libero LE, DeRamus TP, Deshpande HD, Kana RK. Surface-based morphometry of the cortical architecture of autism spectrum disorders: volume, thickness, area, and gyrification. Neuropsychologia 2014; 62:1-10. [PMID: 25019362 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2014] [Revised: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Libero
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235G, 1719 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0021, USA
| | - Thomas P DeRamus
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235G, 1719 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0021, USA
| | | | - Rajesh K Kana
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235G, 1719 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0021, USA.
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149
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Gliga T, Jones EJH, Bedford R, Charman T, Johnson MH. From early markers to neuro-developmental mechanisms of autism. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2014; 34:189-207. [PMID: 25187673 PMCID: PMC4119302 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2014.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2013] [Revised: 05/19/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Studies of infants at-risk could reveal the developmental origin of autism. Behavioral and brain markers differentiate infants that develop autism symptoms from controls, during the first year of life. Little evidence for decreased social orienting or social motivation. Some evidence for multiple developmental pathways to autism.
A fast growing field, the study of infants at risk because of having an older sibling with autism (i.e. infant sibs) aims to identify the earliest signs of this disorder, which would allow for earlier diagnosis and intervention. More importantly, we argue, these studies offer the opportunity to validate existing neuro-developmental models of autism against experimental evidence. Although autism is mainly seen as a disorder of social interaction and communication, emerging early markers do not exclusively reflect impairments of the “social brain”. Evidence for atypical development of sensory and attentional systems highlight the need to move away from localized deficits to models suggesting brain-wide involvement in autism pathology. We discuss the implications infant sibs findings have for future work into the biology of autism and the development of interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Gliga
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, United Kingdom
| | - E J H Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, United Kingdom
| | - R Bedford
- Biostatistics Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - T Charman
- Psychology Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - M H Johnson
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, United Kingdom
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150
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Kong XZ, Zhen Z, Li X, Lu HH, Wang R, Liu L, He Y, Zang Y, Liu J. Individual differences in impulsivity predict head motion during magnetic resonance imaging. PLoS One 2014; 9:e104989. [PMID: 25148416 PMCID: PMC4141798 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2014] [Accepted: 07/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides valuable data for understanding the human mind and brain disorders, but in-scanner head motion introduces systematic and spurious biases. For example, differences in MRI measures (e.g., network strength, white matter integrity) between patient and control groups may be due to the differences in their head motion. To determine whether head motion is an important variable in itself, or just simply a confounding variable, we explored individual differences in psychological traits that may predispose some people to move more than others during an MRI scan. In the first two studies, we demonstrated in both children (N = 245) and adults (N = 581) that head motion, estimated from resting-state functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging, was reliably correlated with impulsivity scores. Further, the difference in head motion between children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing children was largely due to differences in impulsivity. Finally, in the third study, we confirmed the observation that the regression approach, which aims to deal with motion issues by regressing out motion in the group analysis, would underestimate the effect of interest. Taken together, the present findings provide empirical evidence that links in-scanner head motion to psychological traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang-zhen Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xueting Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Huan-hua Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruosi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ling Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yong He
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yufeng Zang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jia Liu
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
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