1
|
Kosmer K, Kulesza R. Cortical dysmorphology and reduced cortico-collicular projections in an animal model of autism spectrum disorder. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:146-160. [PMID: 38696608 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disability that includes sensory disturbances. Hearing is frequently affected and ranges from deafness to hypersensitivity. In utero exposure to the antiepileptic valproic acid is associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in humans and timed valproic acid exposure is a biologically relevant and validated animal model of autism spectrum disorder. Valproic acid-exposed rats have fewer neurons in their auditory brainstem and thalamus, fewer calbindin-positive neurons, reduced ascending projections to the midbrain and thalamus, elevated thresholds, and delayed auditory brainstem responses. Additionally, in the auditory cortex, valproic acid exposure results in abnormal responses, decreased phase-locking, elevated thresholds, and abnormal tonotopic maps. We therefore hypothesized that in utero, valproic acid exposure would result in fewer neurons in auditory cortex, neuronal dysmorphology, fewer calbindin-positive neurons, and reduced connectivity. We approached this hypothesis using morphometric analyses, immunohistochemistry, and retrograde tract tracing. We found thinner cortical layers but no changes in the density of neurons, smaller pyramidal and non-pyramidal neurons in several regions, fewer neurons immunoreactive for calbindin-positive, and fewer cortical neurons projecting to the inferior colliculus. These results support the widespread impact of the auditory system in autism spectrum disorder and valproic acid-exposed animals and emphasize the utility of simple, noninvasive auditory screening for autism spectrum disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kara Kosmer
- RWJBH Monmouth Medical CenterLong Branch, NJ 07740, United States
| | - Randy Kulesza
- Department of Anatomy, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA 16509, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Neudecker V, Perez-Zoghbi JF, Miranda-Domínguez O, Schenning KJ, Ramirez JS, Mitchell AJ, Perrone A, Earl E, Carpenter S, Martin LD, Coleman K, Neuringer M, Kroenke CD, Dissen GA, Fair DA, Brambrink AM. Early-in-life isoflurane exposure alters resting-state functional connectivity in juvenile non-human primates. Br J Anaesth 2023; 131:1030-1042. [PMID: 37714750 PMCID: PMC10687619 DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.07.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clinical studies suggest that anaesthesia exposure early in life affects neurobehavioural development. We designed a non-human primate (NHP) study to evaluate cognitive, behavioural, and brain functional and structural alterations after isoflurane exposure during infancy. These NHPs displayed decreased close social behaviour and increased astrogliosis in specific brain regions, most notably in the amygdala. Here we hypothesise that resting-state functional connectivity MRI can detect alterations in connectivity of brain areas that relate to these social behaviours and astrogliosis. METHODS Imaging was performed in 2-yr-old NHPs under light anaesthesia, after early-in-life (postnatal days 6-12) exposure to 5 h of isoflurane either one or three times, or to room air. Brain images were segmented into 82 regions of interest; the amygdala and the posterior cingulate cortex were chosen for a seed-based resting-state functional connectivity MRI analysis. RESULTS We found differences between groups in resting-state functional connectivity of the amygdala and the auditory cortices, medial premotor cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex. There were also alterations in resting-state functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and secondary auditory, polar prefrontal, and temporal cortices, and the anterior insula. Relationships were identified between resting-state functional connectivity alterations and the decrease in close social behaviour and increased astrogliosis. CONCLUSIONS Early-in-life anaesthesia exposure in NHPs is associated with resting-state functional connectivity alterations of the amygdala and the posterior cingulate cortex with other brain regions, evident at the juvenile age of 2 yr. These changes in resting-state functional connectivity correlate with the decrease in close social behaviour and increased astrogliosis. Using resting-state functional connectivity MRI to study the neuronal underpinnings of early-in-life anaesthesia-induced behavioural alterations could facilitate development of a biomarker for anaesthesia-induced developmental neurotoxicity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Viola Neudecker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jose F Perez-Zoghbi
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Oscar Miranda-Domínguez
- Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Katie J Schenning
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Julian Sb Ramirez
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - A J Mitchell
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Anders Perrone
- Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Eric Earl
- Data Science and Sharing Team, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sam Carpenter
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Lauren D Martin
- Animal Resources & Research Support, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Kristine Coleman
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Martha Neuringer
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Christopher D Kroenke
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Advanced Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Gregory A Dissen
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Damien A Fair
- Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ansgar M Brambrink
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ma H, Cao Y, Li M, Zhan L, Xie Z, Huang L, Gao Y, Jia X. Abnormal amygdala functional connectivity and deep learning classification in multifrequency bands in autism spectrum disorder: A multisite functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:1094-1104. [PMID: 36346215 PMCID: PMC9875923 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have explored resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of the amygdala in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it remains unclear whether there are frequency-specific FC alterations of the amygdala in ASD and whether FC in specific frequency bands can be used to distinguish patients with ASD from typical controls (TCs). Data from 306 patients with ASD and 314 age-matched and sex-matched TCs were collected from 28 sites in the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database. The bilateral amygdala, defined as the seed regions, was used to perform seed-based FC analyses in the conventional, slow-5, and slow-4 frequency bands at each site. Image-based meta-analyses were used to obtain consistent brain regions across 28 sites in the three frequency bands. By combining generative adversarial networks and deep neural networks, a deep learning approach was applied to distinguish patients with ASD from TCs. The meta-analysis results showed frequency band specificity of FC in ASD, which was reflected in the slow-5 frequency band instead of the conventional and slow-4 frequency bands. The deep learning results showed that, compared with the conventional and slow-4 frequency bands, the slow-5 frequency band exhibited a higher accuracy of 74.73%, precision of 74.58%, recall of 75.05%, and area under the curve of 0.811 to distinguish patients with ASD from TCs. These findings may help us to understand the pathological mechanisms of ASD and provide preliminary guidance for the clinical diagnosis of ASD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huibin Ma
- School of Information and Electronics Technology, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China
| | - Yikang Cao
- School of Information and Electronics Technology, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China
| | - Mengting Li
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.,Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Linlin Zhan
- Faculty of Western Languages, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China
| | - Zhou Xie
- School of Information and Electronics Technology, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China
| | - Lina Huang
- Department of Radiology, Changshu No. 2 People's Hospital, The Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Changshu, China
| | - Yanyan Gao
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.,Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Xize Jia
- Department of Radiology, Changshu No. 2 People's Hospital, The Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Changshu, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wang Y, Xu L, Fang H, Wang F, Gao T, Zhu Q, Jiao G, Ke X. Social Brain Network of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Characterization of Functional Connectivity and Potential Association with Stereotyped Behavior. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13020280. [PMID: 36831823 PMCID: PMC9953760 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: To identify patterns of social dysfunction in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), study the potential linkage between social brain networks and stereotyped behavior, and further explore potential targets of non-invasive nerve stimulation to improve social disorders. Methods: Voxel-wise and ROI-wise analysis methods were adopted to explore abnormalities in the functional activity of social-related regions of the brain. Then, we analyzed the relationships between clinical variables and the statistical indicators of social-related brain regions. Results: Compared with the typically developing group, the functional connectivity strength of social-related brain regions with the precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, supplementary motor area, paracentral lobule, median cingulum, and paracingulum gyri was significantly weakened in the ASD group (all p < 0. 01). The functional connectivity was negatively correlated with communication, social interaction, communication + social interaction, and the total score of the ADOS scale (r = -0.38, -0.39, -0.40, and -0.3, respectively; all p < 0.01), with social awareness, social cognition, social communication, social motivation, autistic mannerisms, and the total score of the SRS scale (r = -0.32, -0.32, -0.40, -0.30, -0.28, and -0.27, respectively; all p < 0.01), and with the total score of SCQ (r = -0.27, p < 0.01). In addition, significant intergroup differences in clustering coefficients and betweenness centrality were seen across multiple brain regions in the ASD group. Conclusions: The functional connectivity between social-related brain regions and many other brain regions was significantly weakened compared to the typically developing group, and it was negatively correlated with social disorders. Social network dysfunction seems to be related to stereotyped behavior. Therefore, these social-related brain regions may be taken as potential stimulation targets of non-invasive nerve stimulation to improve social dysfunction in children with ASD in the future.
Collapse
|