1
|
Rosello R, Martinez-Raga J, Mira A, Girela B, Cortese S. Developmental outcomes in adolescence of children with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability: A systematic review of prospective studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 126:590-603. [PMID: 33872683 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID) represent approximately two-thirds of the ASD population. Here we focused on prospective research assessing different areas of functioning of children with ASD, without ID, until adolescence. Based on a pre-registered protocol (PROSPERO CRD42020189029), a systematic review of prospective studies (published between 01.01.2010 and 01.01.2020) was conducted. Twenty-eight studies met eligibility criteria. Findings indicated that ASD diagnosis and the Intelligence Quotient were highly stable over time across studies. Executive Functioning, Theory of Mind and Central Coherence processes tended to improve, although deficits remained when compared to typically developed controls. Adaptive difficulties and psychiatric comorbidity were relatively stable over time. We discuss potential implications of the findings for clinicians and educators and suggest recommendations for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rocio Rosello
- Division of Psychiatry, Imperial College London, UK.
| | - Jose Martinez-Raga
- Psychiatry Department, University Hospital Doctor Peset of Valencia & University of Valencia, Spain
| | - Alvaro Mira
- Division of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Samuele Cortese
- Centre for Innovation in Mental Health (CIMH), School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, UK; Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; Solent NHS Trust, Southampton, UK; Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, New York University Child Study Center, New York City, New York, USA; Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Keehn RJJ, Pueschel EB, Gao Y, Jahedi A, Alemu K, Carper R, Fishman I, Müller RA. Underconnectivity Between Visual and Salience Networks and Links With Sensory Abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2021; 60:274-285. [PMID: 32126259 PMCID: PMC7483217 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The anterior insular cortex (AI), which is a part of the salience network, is critically involved in visual awareness, multisensory perception, and social and emotional processing, among other functions. In children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), evidence has suggested aberrant functional connectivity (FC) of AI compared with typically developing peers. While recent studies have primarily focused on the functional connections between salience and social networks, much less is known about connectivity between AI and primary sensory regions, including visual areas, and how these patterns may be linked to autism symptomatology. METHOD The current investigation implemented functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine resting-state FC patterns of salience and visual networks in children and adolescents with ASDs compared with typically developing controls, and to relate them to behavioral measures. RESULTS Functional underconnectivity was found in the ASD group between left AI and bilateral visual cortices. Moreover, in an ASD subgroup with more atypical visual sensory profiles, FC was positively correlated with abnormal social motivational responsivity. CONCLUSION Findings of reduced FC between salience and visual networks in ASDs potentially indicate deficient selection of salient information. Moreover, in children and adolescents with ASDs who show strongly atypical visual sensory profiles, connectivity at seemingly more neurotypical levels may be paradoxically associated with greater impairment of social motivation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ellyn B. Pueschel
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, San Diego State University, CA
| | - Yangfeifei Gao
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, San Diego State University, CA,San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, CA
| | - Afrooz Jahedi
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, San Diego State University, CA,San Diego State University/Claremont Graduate University Joint Doctoral Program in Computational Statistics, CA
| | - Kalekirstos Alemu
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, San Diego State University, CA
| | - Ruth Carper
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, San Diego State University, CA,San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, CA
| | - Inna Fishman
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, San Diego State University, CA,San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, CA
| | - Ralph-Axel Müller
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratories, San Diego State University, CA,San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, CA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang M, Jiao J, Hu X, Yang P, Huang Y, Situ M, Guo K, Cai J, Huang Y. Exploring the spatial working memory and visual perception in children with autism spectrum disorder and general population with high autism-like traits. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0235552. [PMID: 32645114 PMCID: PMC7347168 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of the study is to compare the spatial working memory and visual perception between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing control (TDC). Furthermore, this study validated whether this impairment was a feature of autism in general population with different autism-like traits (ALTs). This study contains two parts: case-control study and community population study. The ASD group and the control group were enlisted voluntarily (ASD group, n = 52; control group, n = 32). In the population study, we recruited 2994 children. Based on the scores of Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), children were divided into two groups (higher ALTs n = 122, lower ALTs n = 122). The participants completed the cognition tasks focusing on spatial working memory, visual-motor integration, and Intelligence. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted, with potential confounders IQ, age, and gender were controlled. Pearson correlations were computed by controlling the IQ and age as covariate to better understand the relations between visual perception, spatial working memory, and autism-like traits. In the case-control study, the results of cognition tasks focusing on the spatial working memory and visual perception indicated underperformance in children with ASD. In the community population study, we found that individuals with higher ALTs performed worse than children with lower ALTs in spatial working memory. Pearson correlation analysis suggested that a correlation between SWM total errors and visual perception was identified both in the children with ASD and in community population (ASD group, r = -0.592, p<0.001; general population, r = -0.201, p = 0.003). It suggested that spatial working memory deficit was a characteristic of autism, and may be distributed across the general population. Furthermore, we speculated a correlation between spatial working memory and visual perception in children with ASD and in general population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manxue Zhang
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jian Jiao
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiao Hu
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Pingyuan Yang
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yan Huang
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Mingjing Situ
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Kuifang Guo
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jia Cai
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yi Huang
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Brain Research Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychiatric Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Jao Keehn RJ, Nair S, Pueschel EB, Linke AC, Fishman I, Müller RA. Atypical Local and Distal Patterns of Occipito-frontal Functional Connectivity are Related to Symptom Severity in Autism. Cereb Cortex 2019; 29:3319-3330. [PMID: 30137241 PMCID: PMC7342606 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Revised: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are increasingly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by sociocommunicative impairments. Growing consensus indicates that neurobehavioral abnormalities require explanation in terms of interconnected networks. Despite theoretical speculations about increased local and reduced distal connectivity, links between local and distal functional connectivity have not been systematically investigated in ASDs. Specifically, it remains open whether hypothesized local overconnectivity may reflect isolated versus overly integrative processing. Resting state functional MRI data from 57 children and adolescents with ASDs and 51 typically developing (TD) participants were included. In regional homogeneity (ReHo) analyses, pericalcarine visual cortex was found be locally overconnected (ASD > TD). Using this region as seed in whole-brain analyses, we observed overconnectivity in distal regions, specifically middle frontal gyri, for an ASD subgroup identified through k-means clustering. While in this subgroup local occipital to distal frontal overconnectivity was associated with greater symptom severity, a second subgroup showed the opposite pattern of connectivity and symptom severity correlations. Our findings suggest that increased local connectivity in ASDs is region-specific and may be partially associated with more integrative long-distance connectivity. Results also highlight the need to test for subtypes, as differential patterns of brain-behavior links were observed in two distinct subgroups of our ASD cohort.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Joanne Jao Keehn
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sangeeta Nair
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Ellyn B Pueschel
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Annika C Linke
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Inna Fishman
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
- Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ralph-Axel Müller
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
- Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
An investigation of global-local processing bias in a large sample of typical individuals varying in autism traits. Conscious Cogn 2018; 65:271-279. [PMID: 30245409 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Although individuals with an autism spectrum disorder display impaired function across several social and behavioral domains, they possess intact, and often superior visual processing abilities for local relative to global aspects of their visual environment. To address whether differences in visual processing similarly vary within typical individuals as a function of their level of social competence, using the Navon hierarchical figures task, here we examined the relationship between global-local visual processing style and the number of autism-like traits in a large sample of 434 typically developed persons. In line with the existing literature, our data indicated an overall global processing bias. However, this overall visual processing style did not vary with participants' number of autism-like traits. These results suggest that the visual processing of Navon figures may be different in typical individuals vs. those with an autism spectrum disorder, with those differences potentially reflecting specific stimulus and task settings.
Collapse
|
6
|
Nair S, Jao Keehn RJ, Berkebile MM, Maximo JO, Witkowska N, Müller RA. Local resting state functional connectivity in autism: site and cohort variability and the effect of eye status. Brain Imaging Behav 2018; 12:168-179. [PMID: 28197860 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-017-9678-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with prominent impairments in sociocommunicative abilities, which have been linked to anomalous brain network organization. Despite ample evidence of atypical long-distance connectivity, the literature on local connectivity remains small and divergent. We used resting-state functional MRI regional homogeneity (ReHo) as a local connectivity measure in comparative analyses across several well-matched low-motion subsamples from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange and in-house data, with a grand total of 147 ASD and 184 typically developing (TD) participants, ages 7-18 years. We tested for group differences in each subsample, with additional focus on the difference between eyes-open and eyes-closed resting states. Despite selection of highest quality data and tight demographic and motion matching between groups and across samples, few effects in exactly identical loci (voxels) were found across samples. However, there was gross consistency across all eyes-open samples of local overconnectivity (ASD > TD) in posterior, visual regions. There was also gross consistency of local underconnectivity (ASD < TD) in cingulate gyrus, although exact loci varied between mid/posterior and anterior sections. While all eyes-open datasets showed the described gross similarities, the pattern of group differences for participants scanned with eyes closed was different, with local overconnectivity in ASD in posterior cingulate gyrus, but underconnectivity in some visual regions. Our findings suggest that fMRI local connectivity measures may be relatively susceptible to site and cohort variability and that some previous inconsistencies in the ASD ReHo literature may be reconciled by more careful consideration of eye status.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sangeeta Nair
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Ct., Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA
| | - R Joanne Jao Keehn
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Ct., Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA
| | - Michael M Berkebile
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Ct., Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA
| | - José Omar Maximo
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Ct., Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Natalia Witkowska
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Ct., Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA
| | - Ralph-Axel Müller
- Brain Development Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Ct., Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA. .,Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|