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Lin Q, Shi Y, Huang H, Jiao B, Kuang C, Chen J, Rao Y, Zhu Y, Liu W, Huang R, Lin J, Ma L. Functional brain network alterations in the co-occurrence of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2024; 33:369-380. [PMID: 36800038 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-023-02165-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two highly prevalent and commonly co-occurring neurodevelopmental disorders. The neural mechanisms underpinning the comorbidity of ASD and ADHD (ASD + ADHD) remain unclear. We focused on the topological organization and functional connectivity of brain networks in ASD + ADHD patients versus ASD patients without ADHD (ASD-only). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 114 ASD and 161 typically developing (TD) individuals were obtained from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange II. The ASD patients comprised 40 ASD + ADHD and 74 ASD-only individuals. We constructed functional brain networks for each group and performed graph-theory and network-based statistic (NBS) analyses. Group differences between ASD + ADHD and ASD-only were analyzed at three levels: nodal, global, and connectivity. At the nodal level, ASD + ADHD exhibited topological disorganization in the temporal and occipital regions, compared with ASD-only. At the global level, ASD + ADHD and ASD-only displayed no significant differences. At the connectivity level, the NBS analysis revealed that ASD + ADHD showed enhanced functional connectivity between the prefrontal and frontoparietal regions, as well as between the orbitofrontal and occipital regions, compared with ASD-only. The hippocampus was the shared region in aberrant functional connectivity patterns in ASD + ADHD and ASD-only compared with TD. These findings suggests that ASD + ADHD displays altered topology and functional connectivity in the brain regions that undertake social cognition, language processing, and sensory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiwen Lin
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yafei Shi
- School of Fundamental Medical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Huiyuan Huang
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Bingqing Jiao
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Changyi Kuang
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiawen Chen
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuyang Rao
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunpeng Zhu
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenting Liu
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiabao Lin
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China.
- Institut Des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5229, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
| | - Lijun Ma
- School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University Town, No.232, Huandong Road, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China.
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Foster SL, Breukelaar IA, Ekanayake K, Lewis S, Korgaonkar MS. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Amygdala and Subregions at 3 Tesla: A Scoping Review. J Magn Reson Imaging 2024; 59:361-375. [PMID: 37352130 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.28836] [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: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The amygdalae are a pair of small brain structures, each of which is composed of three main subregions and whose function is implicated in neuropsychiatric conditions. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has been utilized extensively in investigation of amygdala activation and functional connectivity (FC) with most clinical research sites now utilizing 3 Tesla (3T) MR systems. However, accurate imaging and analysis remains challenging not just due to the small size of the amygdala, but also its location deep in the temporal lobe. Selection of imaging parameters can significantly impact data quality with implications for the accuracy of study results and validity of conclusions. Wide variation exists in acquisition protocols with spatial resolution of some protocols suboptimal for accurate assessment of the amygdala as a whole, and for measuring activation and FC of the three main subregions, each of which contains multiple nuclei with specialized roles. The primary objective of this scoping review is to provide a broad overview of 3T fMRI protocols in use to image the activation and FC of the amygdala with particular reference to spatial resolution. The secondary objective is to provide context for a discussion culminating in recommendations for a standardized protocol for imaging activation of the amygdala and its subregions. As the advantages of big data and protocol harmonization in imaging become more apparent so, too, do the disadvantages of data heterogeneity. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheryl L Foster
- Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Radiology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Isabella A Breukelaar
- Brain Dynamics Centre, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kanchana Ekanayake
- University Library, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sarah Lewis
- Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mayuresh S Korgaonkar
- Brain Dynamics Centre, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
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Jing J, Klugah-Brown B, Xia S, Sheng M, Biswal BB. Comparative analysis of group information-guided independent component analysis and independent vector analysis for assessing brain functional network characteristics in autism spectrum disorder. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1252732. [PMID: 37928736 PMCID: PMC10620743 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1252732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Group information-guided independent component analysis (GIG-ICA) and independent vector analysis (IVA) are two methods that improve estimation of subject-specific independent components in neuroimaging studies. These methods have shown better performance than traditional group independent component analysis (GICA) with respect to intersubject variability (ISV). Methods In this study, we compared the patterns of community structure, spatial variance, and prediction performance of GIG-ICA and IVA-GL, respectively. The dataset was obtained from the publicly available Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) database, comprising 75 healthy controls (HC) and 102 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) participants. The greedy rule was used to match components from IVA-GL and GIG-ICA in order to compare the similarities between the two methods. Results Robust correspondence was observed between the two methods the following networks: cerebellum network (CRN; |r| = 0.7813), default mode network (DMN; |r| = 0.7263), self-reference network (SRN; |r| = 0.7818), ventral attention network (VAN; |r| = 0.7574), and visual network (VSN; |r| = 0.7503). Additionally, the Sensorimotor Network demonstrated the highest similarity between IVA-GL and GIG-ICA (SOM: |r| = 0.8125). Our findings revealed a significant difference in the number of modules identified by the two methods (HC: p < 0.001; ASD: p < 0.001). GIG-ICA identified significant differences in FNC between HC and ASD compared to IVA-GL. However, in correlation analysis, IVA-GL identified a statistically negative correlation between FNC of ASD and the social total subscore of the classic Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS: pi = -0.26, p = 0.0489). Moreover, both methods demonstrated similar prediction performances on age within specific networks, as indicated by GIG-ICA-CRN (R2 = 0.91, RMSE = 3.05) and IVA-VAN (R2 = 0.87, RMSE = 3.21). Conclusion In summary, IVA-GL demonstrated lower modularity, suggesting greater sensitivity in estimating networks with higher intersubject variability. The improved age prediction of cerebellar-attention networks underscores their importance in the developmental progression of ASD. Overall, IVA-GL may be appropriate for investigating disorders with greater variability, while GIG-ICA identifies functional networks with distinct modularity patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junlin Jing
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Klugah-Brown
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Shiyu Xia
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Min Sheng
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Bharat B. Biswal
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, United States
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Jia Q, Li H, Wang M, Wei C, Xu L, Ye L, Wang C, Ke S, Li L, Yao P. Transcript levels of 4 genes in umbilical cord blood are predictive of later autism development: a longitudinal follow-up study. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2023; 48:E334-E344. [PMID: 37673435 PMCID: PMC10495168 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.230046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over recent decades, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been of increasing epidemiological importance, given the substantial increase in its prevalence; at present, clinical diagnosis is possible only after 2 years of age. In this study, we sought to develop a potential predictive model for ASD screening. METHODS We conducted a longitudinal follow-up study of newborns over 3 years. We measured transcript levels of 4 genes (superoxide dismutase-2 [SOD2], retinoic acid-related orphan receptor-α [RORA], G protein-coupled estrogen receptor-1 [GPER], progesterone receptor [PGR]), 2 oxidative stress markers and epigenetic marks at the RORA promoter in case-control umbilical cord blood mononuclear cell (UCBMC) samples. RESULTS We followed 2623 newborns; we identified 41 children with ASD, 63 with delayed development and 2519 typically developing children. We matched the 41 children with ASD to 41 typically developing children for UCBMC measurements. Our results showed that children with ASD had significantly higher levels of H3K9me3 histone modifications at the RORA promoter and oxidative stress in UCBMC than typically developing children; children with delayed development showed no significant differences. Children with ASD had significantly lower expression of SOD2, RORA and GPER, but higher PGR expression than typically developing children. We established a model based on these 4 candidate genes, and achieved an area under the curve of 87.0% (standard deviation 3.9%) with a sensitivity of 1.000 and specificity of 0.854 to predict ASD in UCBMC. LIMITATIONS Although the gene combinations produced a good pass/fail cut-off value for ASD evaluation, relatively few children in our study sample had ASD. CONCLUSION The altered gene expression in UCBMC can predict later autism development, possibly providing a predictive model for ASD screening immediately after birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingzheng Jia
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Huilin Li
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Min Wang
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Chongxia Wei
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Lichao Xu
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Lin Ye
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Chunjun Wang
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Shaofeng Ke
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Ling Li
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
| | - Paul Yao
- From the Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Hainan, China
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Helmy E, Elnakib A, ElNakieb Y, Khudri M, Abdelrahim M, Yousaf J, Ghazal M, Contractor S, Barnes GN, El-Baz A. Role of Artificial Intelligence for Autism Diagnosis Using DTI and fMRI: A Survey. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1858. [PMID: 37509498 PMCID: PMC10376963 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11071858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a wide range of diseases characterized by difficulties with social skills, repetitive activities, speech, and nonverbal communication. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1 in 44 American children currently suffer from ASD. The current gold standard for ASD diagnosis is based on behavior observational tests by clinicians, which suffer from being subjective and time-consuming and afford only late detection (a child must have a mental age of at least two to apply for an observation report). Alternatively, brain imaging-more specifically, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-has proven its ability to assist in fast, objective, and early ASD diagnosis and detection. With the recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques, sufficient tools have been developed for both automated ASD diagnosis and early detection. More recently, the development of deep learning (DL), a young subfield of AI based on artificial neural networks (ANNs), has successfully enabled the processing of brain MRI data with improved ASD diagnostic abilities. This survey focuses on the role of AI in autism diagnostics and detection based on two basic MRI modalities: diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional MRI (fMRI). In addition, the survey outlines the basic findings of DTI and fMRI in autism. Furthermore, recent techniques for ASD detection using DTI and fMRI are summarized and discussed. Finally, emerging tendencies are described. The results of this study show how useful AI is for early, subjective ASD detection and diagnosis. More AI solutions that have the potential to be used in healthcare settings will be introduced in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eman Helmy
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Elgomheryia Street, Mansoura 3512, Egypt;
| | - Ahmed Elnakib
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA; (A.E.); (Y.E.); (M.K.); (M.A.)
| | - Yaser ElNakieb
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA; (A.E.); (Y.E.); (M.K.); (M.A.)
| | - Mohamed Khudri
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA; (A.E.); (Y.E.); (M.K.); (M.A.)
| | - Mostafa Abdelrahim
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA; (A.E.); (Y.E.); (M.K.); (M.A.)
| | - Jawad Yousaf
- Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Department, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi 59911, United Arab Emirates; (J.Y.); (M.G.)
| | - Mohammed Ghazal
- Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Department, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi 59911, United Arab Emirates; (J.Y.); (M.G.)
| | - Sohail Contractor
- Department of Radiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA;
| | - Gregory Neal Barnes
- Department of Neurology, Pediatric Research Institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA;
| | - Ayman El-Baz
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA; (A.E.); (Y.E.); (M.K.); (M.A.)
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Meta-analytic connectivity modelling of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in autism spectrum disorders. Brain Imaging Behav 2023; 17:257-269. [PMID: 36633738 PMCID: PMC10049951 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00754-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Social and non-social deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) persist into adulthood and may share common regions of aberrant neural activations. The current meta-analysis investigated activation differences between ASD and neurotypical controls irrespective of task type. Activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses were performed to examine consistent hypo-activated and/or hyper-activated regions for all tasks combined, and for social and non-social tasks separately; meta-analytic connectivity modelling and behavioral/paradigm analyses were performed to examine co-activated regions and associated behaviors. One hundred studies (mean age range = 18-41 years) were included. For all tasks combined, the ASD group showed significant (p < .05) hypo-activation in one cluster around the left amygdala (peak - 26, -2, -20, volume = 1336 mm3, maximum ALE = 0.0327), and this cluster co-activated with two other clusters around the right cerebellum (peak 42, -56, -22, volume = 2560mm3, maximum ALE = 0.049) Lobule VI/Crus I and the left fusiform gyrus (BA47) (peak - 42, -46, -18, volume = 1616 mm3, maximum ALE = 0.046) and left cerebellum (peak - 42, -58, -20, volume = 1616mm3, maximum ALE = 0.033) Lobule VI/Crus I. While the left amygdala was associated with negative emotion (fear) (z = 3.047), the left fusiform gyrus/cerebellum Lobule VI/Crus I cluster was associated with language semantics (z = 3.724) and action observation (z = 3.077). These findings highlight the left amygdala as a region consistently hypo-activated in ASD and suggest the potential involvement of fusiform gyrus and cerebellum in social cognition in ASD. Future research should further elucidate if and how amygdala-fusiform/cerebellar connectivity relates to social and non-social cognition in adults with ASD.
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Luckett PH, Lee JJ, Park KY, Raut RV, Meeker KL, Gordon EM, Snyder AZ, Ances BM, Leuthardt EC, Shimony JS. Resting state network mapping in individuals using deep learning. Front Neurol 2023; 13:1055437. [PMID: 36712434 PMCID: PMC9878609 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1055437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Resting state functional MRI (RS-fMRI) is currently used in numerous clinical and research settings. The localization of resting state networks (RSNs) has been utilized in applications ranging from group analysis of neurodegenerative diseases to individual network mapping for pre-surgical planning of tumor resections. Reproducibility of these results has been shown to require a substantial amount of high-quality data, which is not often available in clinical or research settings. Methods In this work, we report voxelwise mapping of a standard set of RSNs using a novel deep 3D convolutional neural network (3DCNN). The 3DCNN was trained on publicly available functional MRI data acquired in n = 2010 healthy participants. After training, maps that represent the probability of a voxel belonging to a particular RSN were generated for each participant, and then used to calculate mean and standard deviation (STD) probability maps, which are made publicly available. Further, we compared our results to previously published resting state and task-based functional mappings. Results Our results indicate this method can be applied in individual subjects and is highly resistant to both noisy data and fewer RS-fMRI time points than are typically acquired. Further, our results show core regions within each network that exhibit high average probability and low STD. Discussion The 3DCNN algorithm can generate individual RSN localization maps, which are necessary for clinical applications. The similarity between 3DCNN mapping results and task-based fMRI responses supports the association of specific functional tasks with RSNs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick H. Luckett
- Division of Neurotechnology, Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - John J. Lee
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Ki Yun Park
- Division of Neurotechnology, Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Ryan V. Raut
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- MindScope Program, Allen Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Karin L. Meeker
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Evan M. Gordon
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Abraham Z. Snyder
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Beau M. Ances
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Eric C. Leuthardt
- Division of Neurotechnology, Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology, Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Brain Laser Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, Albany, NY, United States
| | - Joshua S. Shimony
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
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Feng Y, Kang X, Wang H, Cong J, Zhuang W, Xue K, Li F, Yao D, Xu P, Zhang T. The relationships between dynamic resting-state networks and social behavior in autism spectrum disorder revealed by fuzzy entropy-based temporal variability analysis of large-scale network. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:764-776. [PMID: 35297491 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a core deficit in social processes. However, it is still unclear whether the core clinical symptoms of the disorder can be reflected by the temporal variability of resting-state network functional connectivity (FC). In this article, we examined the large-scale network FC temporal variability at the local region, within-network, and between-network levels using the fuzzy entropy technique. Then, we correlated the network FC temporal variability to social-related scores. We found that the social behavior correlated with the FC temporal variability of the precuneus, parietal, occipital, temporal, and precentral. Our results also showed that social behavior was significantly negatively correlated with the temporal variability of FC within the default mode network, between the frontoparietal network and cingulo-opercular task control network, and the dorsal attention network. In contrast, social behavior correlated significantly positively with the temporal variability of FC within the subcortical network. Finally, using temporal variability as a feature, we construct a model to predict the social score of ASD. These findings suggest that the network FC temporal variability has a close relationship with social behavioral inflexibility in ASD and may serve as a potential biomarker for predicting ASD symptom severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Feng
- Mental Health Education Center and School of Science, Xihua University, No. 999, Jinzhou Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu 610039, China
| | - Xiaodong Kang
- The Department of Sichuan 81 Rehabilitation Center, Chengdu University of TCM, No.37, Twelfth Bridge Road,Chengdu 610075, China
| | - Hesong Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Institute of Gastroenterology of Guangdong Province, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, No. 1023-1063, Shatai South Road, Baiyun District, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jing Cong
- Mental Health Education Center and School of Science, Xihua University, No. 999, Jinzhou Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu 610039, China
| | - Wenwen Zhuang
- Mental Health Education Center and School of Science, Xihua University, No. 999, Jinzhou Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu 610039, China
| | - Kaiqing Xue
- School of Computer and Software Engineering, Xihua University, No. 999, Jinzhou Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu 610039, China
| | - Fali Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Dadao, Gaoxin District, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Dezhong Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Dadao, Gaoxin District, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Peng Xu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Dadao, Gaoxin District, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- Mental Health Education Center and School of Science, Xihua University, No. 999, Jinzhou Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu 610039, China.,The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Dadao, Gaoxin District, Chengdu 611731, China
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ElNakieb Y, Ali MT, Elnakib A, Shalaby A, Mahmoud A, Soliman A, Barnes GN, El-Baz A. Understanding the Role of Connectivity Dynamics of Resting-State Functional MRI in the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comprehensive Study. BIOENGINEERING (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:bioengineering10010056. [PMID: 36671628 PMCID: PMC9855190 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10010056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
In addition to the standard observational assessment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), recent advancements in neuroimaging and machine learning (ML) suggest a rapid and objective alternative using brain imaging. This work presents a pipelined framework, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that allows not only an accurate ASD diagnosis but also the identification of the brain regions contributing to the diagnosis decision. The proposed framework includes several processing stages: preprocessing, brain parcellation, feature representation, feature selection, and ML classification. For feature representation, the proposed framework uses both a conventional feature representation and a novel dynamic connectivity representation to assist in the accurate classification of an autistic individual. Based on a large publicly available dataset, this extensive research highlights different decisions along the proposed pipeline and their impact on diagnostic accuracy. A large publicly available dataset of 884 subjects from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange I (ABIDE-I) initiative is used to validate our proposed framework, achieving a global balanced accuracy of 98.8% with five-fold cross-validation and proving the potential of the proposed feature representation. As a result of this comprehensive study, we achieve state-of-the-art accuracy, confirming the benefits of the proposed feature representation and feature engineering in extracting useful information as well as the potential benefits of utilizing ML and neuroimaging in the diagnosis and understanding of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaser ElNakieb
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
| | - Mohamed T. Ali
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
| | - Ahmed Elnakib
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
| | - Ahmed Shalaby
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
| | - Ali Mahmoud
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
| | - Ahmed Soliman
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
| | - Gregory Neal Barnes
- Department of Neurology, Pediatric Research Institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Ayman El-Baz
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
- Correspondence:
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10
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Functional connectivity directionality between large-scale resting-state networks across typical and non-typical trajectories in children and adolescence. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276221. [PMID: 36454744 PMCID: PMC9714732 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental disorders often emerge during adolescence and have been associated with age-related differences in connection strengths of brain networks (static functional connectivity), manifesting in non-typical trajectories of brain development. However, little is known about the direction of information flow (directed functional connectivity) in this period of functional brain progression. We employed dynamic graphical models (DGM) to estimate directed functional connectivity from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data on 1143 participants, aged 6 to 17 years from the healthy brain network (HBN) sample. We tested for effects of age, sex, cognitive abilities and psychopathology on estimates of direction flow. Across participants, we show a pattern of reciprocal information flow between visual-medial and visual-lateral connections, in line with findings in adults. Investigating directed connectivity patterns between networks, we observed a positive association for age and direction flow from the cerebellar to the auditory network, and for the auditory to the sensorimotor network. Further, higher cognitive abilities were linked to lower information flow from the visual occipital to the default mode network. Additionally, examining the degree networks overall send and receive information to each other, we identified age-related effects implicating the right frontoparietal and sensorimotor network. However, we did not find any associations with psychopathology. Our results suggest that the directed functional connectivity of large-scale resting-state brain networks is sensitive to age and cognition during adolescence, warranting further studies that may explore directed relationships at rest and trajectories in more fine-grained network parcellations and in different populations.
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11
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Gao Y, Sun J, Cheng L, Yang Q, Li J, Hao Z, Zhan L, Shi Y, Li M, Jia X, Li H. Altered resting state dynamic functional connectivity of amygdala subregions in patients with autism spectrum disorder: A multi-site fMRI study. J Affect Disord 2022; 312:69-77. [PMID: 35710036 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with altered brain connectivity. Previous studies have focused on the static functional connectivity pattern from amygdala subregions in ASD while ignoring its dynamics. Considering that dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) can provide different perspectives, the present study aims to investigate the dFC pattern of the amygdala subregions in ASD patients. METHODS Data of 618 ASD patients and 836 typical controls (TCs) of 30 sites were obtained from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) database. The sliding window approach was applied to conduct seed-based dFC analysis. The seed regions were bilateral basolateral (BLA) and centromedial-superficial amygdala (CSA). A two-sample t-test was done at each site. Image-based meta-analysis (IBMA) based on the results from all sites was performed. Correlation analysis was conducted between the dFC values and the clinical scores. RESULTS The ASD patients showed lower dFC between the left BLA and the bilateral inferior temporal (ITG)/left superior frontal gyrus, between the right BLA and right ITG/right thalamus/left superior temporal gyrus, and between the right CSA and middle temporal gyrus. The ASD patients showed higher dFC between the left BLA and temporal lobe/right supramarginal gyrus, between the right BLA and left calcarine gyrus, and between the left CSA and left calcarine gyrus. Correlation analysis revealed that the symptom severity was positively correlated with the dFC between the bilateral BLA and ITG in ASD. CONCLUSIONS Abnormal dFC of the specific amygdala subregions may provide new insights into the pathological mechanisms of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyan Gao
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China; Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Jiawei Sun
- School of Information and Electronics Technology, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China
| | - Lulu Cheng
- School of Foreign Studies, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China; Shanghai Center for Research in English Language Education, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qihang Yang
- College of Foreign Language, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Jing Li
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China; Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Zeqi Hao
- 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
| | - Yuyu Shi
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China; Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 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
| | - Xize Jia
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China; Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.
| | - Huayun Li
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China; Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.
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12
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Xu L, Zheng X, Yao S, Li J, Fu M, Li K, Zhao W, Li H, Becker B, Kendrick KM. The mirror neuron system compensates for amygdala dysfunction - associated social deficits in individuals with higher autistic traits. Neuroimage 2022; 251:119010. [PMID: 35182751 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala is a core node in the social brain which exhibits structural and functional abnormalities in Autism spectrum disorder and there is evidence that the mirror neuron system (MNS) can functionally compensate for impaired emotion processing following amygdala lesions. In the current study, we employed an fMRI paradigm in 241 subjects investigating MNS and amygdala responses to observation, imagination and imitation of dynamic facial expressions and whether these differed in individuals with higher (n = 77) as opposed to lower (n = 79) autistic traits. Results indicated that individuals with higher compared to lower autistic traits showed worse recognition memory for fearful faces, smaller real-life social networks, and decreased left basolateral amygdala (BLA) responses to imitation. Additionally, functional connectivity between the left BLA and the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) as well as some other MNS regions was increased in individuals with higher autistic traits, especially during imitation of fearful expressions. The left BLA-IFG connectivity significantly moderated the autistic group differences on recognition memory for fearful faces, indicating that increased amygdala-MNS connectivity could diminish the social behavioral differences between higher and lower autistic trait groups. Overall, findings demonstrate decreased imitation-related amygdala activity in individuals with higher autistic traits in the context of increased amygdala-MNS connectivity which may functionally compensate for amygdala dysfunction and social deficits. Training targeting the MNS may capitalize on this compensatory mechanism for therapeutic benefits in Autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Xu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Zheng
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jialin Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Meina Fu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keshuang Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Hong Li
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
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13
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Yu H, Niu Y, Jia G, Liang Y, Chen B, Sun R, Wang M, Huang S, Zeng J, Lu J, Li L, Guo X, Yao P. Maternal diabetes-mediated RORA suppression in mice contributes to autism-like offspring through inhibition of aromatase. Commun Biol 2022; 5:51. [PMID: 35027651 PMCID: PMC8758718 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03005-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Retinoic acid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA) suppression is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) development, although the mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate the potential effect and mechanisms of RORA suppression on autism-like behavior (ALB) through maternal diabetes-mediated mouse model. Our in vitro study in human neural progenitor cells shows that transient hyperglycemia induces persistent RORA suppression through oxidative stress-mediated epigenetic modifications and subsequent dissociation of octamer-binding transcription factor 3/4 from the RORA promoter, subsequently suppressing the expression of aromatase and superoxide dismutase 2. The in vivo mouse study shows that prenatal RORA deficiency in neuron-specific RORA null mice mimics maternal diabetes-mediated ALB; postnatal RORA expression in the amygdala ameliorates, while postnatal RORA knockdown mimics, maternal diabetes-mediated ALB in offspring. In addition, RORA mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells decrease to 34.2% in ASD patients (n = 121) compared to the typically developing group (n = 118), and the related Receiver Operating Characteristic curve shows good sensitivity and specificity with a calculated 84.1% of Area Under the Curve for ASD diagnosis. We conclude that maternal diabetes contributes to ALB in offspring through suppression of RORA and aromatase, RORA expression in PBMC could be a potential marker for ASD screening. Hong Yu, Yanbin Niu, Guohua Jia et al. integrate in vitro, in vivo, and human experiments to examine a link between RORA expression on autism-like behavior. Their results suggest that maternal diabetes may contribute to autism-like behavior via RORA suppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Yu
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, 528041, P. R. China
| | - Yanbin Niu
- Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Guohua Jia
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, 570206, P. R. China
| | - Yujie Liang
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen Mental Health Center, Shenzhen, 518020, P. R. China
| | - Baolin Chen
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, 528041, P. R. China
| | - Ruoyu Sun
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, 528041, P. R. China
| | - Min Wang
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, 570206, P. R. China
| | - Saijun Huang
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, 528041, P. R. China
| | - Jiaying Zeng
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, 528041, P. R. China
| | - Jianpin Lu
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen Mental Health Center, Shenzhen, 518020, P. R. China
| | - Ling Li
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, 570206, P. R. China.
| | - Xiaoling Guo
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, 528041, P. R. China.
| | - Paul Yao
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, 528041, P. R. China. .,Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, 570206, P. R. China.
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14
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Asadi N, Olson IR, Obradovic Z. The backbone network of dynamic functional connectivity. Netw Neurosci 2021; 5:851-873. [PMID: 35024533 PMCID: PMC8746122 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Temporal networks have become increasingly pervasive in many real-world applications, including the functional connectivity analysis of spatially separated regions of the brain. A major challenge in analysis of such networks is the identification of noise confounds, which introduce temporal ties that are nonessential, or links that are formed by chance due to local properties of the nodes. Several approaches have been suggested in the past for static networks or temporal networks with binary weights for extracting significant ties whose likelihood cannot be reduced to the local properties of the nodes. In this work, we propose a data-driven procedure to reveal the irreducible ties in dynamic functional connectivity of resting-state fMRI data with continuous weights. This framework includes a null model that estimates the latent characteristics of the distributions of temporal links through optimization, followed by a statistical test to filter the links whose formation can be reduced to the activities and local properties of their interacting nodes. We demonstrate the benefits of this approach by applying it to a resting-state fMRI dataset, and provide further discussion on various aspects and advantages of it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nima Asadi
- Department of Computer and Information Sciences, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ingrid R. Olson
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Decision Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Zoran Obradovic
- Department of Computer and Information Sciences, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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15
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Rafiee F, Rezvani Habibabadi R, Motaghi M, Yousem DM, Yousem IJ. Brain MRI in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Narrative Review and Recent Advances. J Magn Reson Imaging 2021; 55:1613-1624. [PMID: 34626442 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.27949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is neuropsychiatric continuum of disorders characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and restricted repetitive patterns of behavior which impede optimal functioning. Early detection and intervention in ASD children can mitigate the deficits in social interaction and result in a better outcome. Various non-invasive imaging methods and molecular techniques have been developed for the early identification of ASD characteristics. There is no general consensus on specific neuroimaging features of autism; however, quantitative magnetic resonance techniques have provided valuable structural and functional information in understanding the neuropathophysiology of ASD and how the autistic brain changes during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. In this review of decades of ASD neuroimaging research, we identify the structural, functional, and molecular imaging clues that most accurately point to the diagnosis of ASD vs. typically developing children. These studies highlight the 1) exaggerated synaptic pruning, 2) anomalous gyrification, 3) interhemispheric under- and overconnectivity, and 4) excitatory glutamate and inhibitory GABA imbalance theories of ASD. The application of these various theories to the analysis of a patient with ASD is mitigated often by superimposed comorbid neuropsychological disorders, evolving brain maturation processes, and pharmacologic and behavioral interventions that may affect the structure and function of the brain. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faranak Rafiee
- Department of Radiology, Fara Parto Medical Imaging and Interventional Radiology Center, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Roya Rezvani Habibabadi
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Mina Motaghi
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, USA
| | - David M Yousem
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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16
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Gupta S, Chan YH, Rajapakse JC. Obtaining leaner deep neural networks for decoding brain functional connectome in a single shot. Neurocomputing 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neucom.2020.04.152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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17
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Functional brain abnormalities associated with comorbid anxiety in autism spectrum disorder. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 32:1273-1286. [PMID: 33161905 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420000772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and associated with social-communication impairment and repetitive behavior symptoms. The neurobiology of anxiety in ASD is unknown, but amygdala dysfunction has been implicated in both ASD and anxiety disorders. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared amygdala-prefrontal and amygdala-striatal connections across three demographically matched groups studied in the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE): ASD with a comorbid anxiety disorder (N = 25; ASD + Anxiety), ASD without a comorbid disorder (N = 68; ASD-NoAnx), and typically developing controls (N = 139; TD). Relative to ASD-NoAnx and TD controls, ASD + Anxiety individuals had decreased connectivity between the amygdala and dorsal/rostral anterior cingulate cortex (dACC/rACC). The functional connectivity of these connections was not affected in ASD-NoAnx, and amygdala connectivity with ventral ACC/medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuits was not different in ASD + Anxiety or ASD-NoAnx relative to TD. Decreased amygdala-dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC)/rACC connectivity was associated with more severe social impairment in ASD + Anxiety; amygdala-striatal connectivity was associated with restricted, repetitive behavior (RRB) symptom severity in ASD-NoAnx individuals. These findings suggest comorbid anxiety in ASD is associated with disrupted emotion-monitoring processes supported by amygdala-dACC/mPFC pathways, whereas emotion regulation systems involving amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are relatively spared. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for comorbid anxiety for parsing ASD neurobiological heterogeneity.
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18
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Khan NA, Waheeb SA, Riaz A, Shang X. A Three-Stage Teacher, Student Neural Networks and Sequential Feed Forward Selection-Based Feature Selection Approach for the Classification of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10100754. [PMID: 33086634 PMCID: PMC7603385 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10100754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Revised: 10/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism disorder, generally known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a brain disorder characterized by lack of communication skills, social aloofness and repetitions in the actions in the patients, which is affecting millions of the people across the globe. Accurate identification of autistic patients is considered a challenging task in the domain of brain disorder science. To address this problem, we have proposed a three-stage feature selection approach for the classification of ASD on the preprocessed Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) rs-fMRI Dataset. In the first stage, a large neural network which we call a “Teacher ” was trained on the correlation-based connectivity matrix to learn the latent representation of the input. In the second stage an autoencoder which we call a “Student” autoencoder was given the task to learn those trained “Teacher” embeddings using the connectivity matrix input. Lastly, an SFFS-based algorithm was employed to select the subset of most discriminating features between the autistic and healthy controls. On the combined site data across 17 sites, we achieved the maximum 10-fold accuracy of 82% and for the individual site-wise data, based on 5-fold accuracy, our results outperformed other state of the art methods in 13 out of the total 17 site-wise comparisons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naseer Ahmed Khan
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China; (N.A.K.); (S.A.W.)
| | - Samer Abdulateef Waheeb
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China; (N.A.K.); (S.A.W.)
| | - Atif Riaz
- Department of Computer Science, University of London, London WC1E 7HU, UK;
| | - Xuequn Shang
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China; (N.A.K.); (S.A.W.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-133-1927-3686
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19
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Nakamura Y, Okada N, Ando S, Ohta K, Ojio Y, Abe O, Kunimatsu A, Yamaguchi S, Kasai K, Koike S. The Association Between Amygdala Subfield-Related Functional Connectivity and Stigma Reduction 12 Months After Social Contacts: A Functional Neuroimaging Study in a Subgroup of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:356. [PMID: 33192379 PMCID: PMC7481372 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social contact is one of the best methods for reducing stigma, and the effect may be associated with emotional response and social cognition. The amygdala is a key region of these functions and can be divided into three subregions, each of which has a different function and connectivity. We investigated whether the amygdala subregion-related functional connectivity is associated with the effect of anti-stigma interventions on reducing mental health-related stigma in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) over 12 months. Healthy young adults [n = 77, age, mean (SD) = 21.23 (0.94) years; male, n = 48], who were subsampled from an RCT (n = 259) investigating the effect of anti-stigma interventions, using filmed social contacts (FSC) or internet self-learning (INS), on reducing stigma, underwent 10 min resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging between the trial registration and 12 months follow-up. The extent of stigma was assessed at the baseline, post-intervention and 12 month follow-up surveys, using the Japanese-language version of the Social Distance Scale (SDSJ), to assess negative emotional attitude toward people with schizophrenia. We compared associations between amygdala subregion-related functional connectivity and changes in the SDSJ scores for 12 months across the control, INS, and FSC groups. Associations between the change in stigma for 12 months and the superficial (SF) subregion of the amygdala-related connectivity in the intracalcarine cortex [(x, y, z) = (−8, −66, 12), z = 4.21, PFWE–corrected = 0.0003, cluster size = 192] differed across groups. The post hoc analysis showed that the SF–intracalcarine cortex connectivity was negatively correlated with the change in stigma only in the FSC group. The current results indicate that greater SF–intracalcarine cortex connectivity is associated with a better response to the FSC interventions, suggesting that biological variability could underlie the long-term effect of anti-stigma interventions on stigma in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Nakamura
- University of Tokyo Center for Integrative Science of Human Behavior (CiSHuB), Tokyo, Japan.,Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Art and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naohiro Okada
- The International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shuntaro Ando
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazusa Ohta
- Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Art and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasutaka Ojio
- Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Kodaira, Japan
| | - Osamu Abe
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo City, Japan
| | - Akira Kunimatsu
- Department of Radiology, IMSUT Hospital, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Minato City, Japan
| | - Sosei Yamaguchi
- Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Kodaira, Japan
| | - Kiyoto Kasai
- University of Tokyo Center for Integrative Science of Human Behavior (CiSHuB), Tokyo, Japan.,The International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,University of Tokyo Institute for Diversity and Adaptation of Human Mind (UTIDAHM), Meguro City, Japan
| | - Shinsuke Koike
- University of Tokyo Center for Integrative Science of Human Behavior (CiSHuB), Tokyo, Japan.,Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Art and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,The International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,University of Tokyo Institute for Diversity and Adaptation of Human Mind (UTIDAHM), Meguro City, Japan
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20
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Dekhil O, Ali M, Haweel R, Elnakib Y, Ghazal M, Hajjdiab H, Fraiwan L, Shalaby A, Soliman A, Mahmoud A, Keynton R, Casanova MF, Barnes G, El-Baz A. A Comprehensive Framework for Differentiating Autism Spectrum Disorder From Neurotypicals by Fusing Structural MRI and Resting State Functional MRI. Semin Pediatr Neurol 2020; 34:100805. [PMID: 32446442 DOI: 10.1016/j.spen.2020.100805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social abilities and communication difficulties. The golden standard for autism diagnosis in research rely on behavioral features, for example, the autism diagnosis observation schedule, the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. In this study we introduce a computer-aided diagnosis system that uses features from structural MRI (sMRI) and resting state functional MRI (fMRI) to help predict an autism diagnosis by clinicians. The proposed system is capable of parcellating brain regions to show which areas are most likely affected by autism related abnormalities and thus help in targeting potential therapeutic interventions. When tested on 18 data sets (n = 1060) from the ABIDE consortium, our system was able to achieve high accuracy (sMRI 0.75-1.00; fMRI 0.79-1.00), sensitivity (sMRI 0.73-1.00; fMRI 0.78-1.00), and specificity (sMRI 0.78-1.00; fMRI 0.79-1.00). The proposed system could be considered an important step toward helping physicians interpret results of neuroimaging studies and personalize treatment options. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to combine features from structural and functional MRI, use them for personalized diagnosis and achieve high accuracies on a relatively large population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar Dekhil
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Mohamed Ali
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Reem Haweel
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Yaser Elnakib
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Mohammed Ghazal
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Hassan Hajjdiab
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Luay Fraiwan
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ahmed Shalaby
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Ahmed Soliman
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Ali Mahmoud
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Robert Keynton
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Manuel F Casanova
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina, Greenville, SC
| | - Gregory Barnes
- Department of Neurology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
| | - Ayman El-Baz
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.
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21
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Zhang L, Wang XH, Li L. Diagnosing autism spectrum disorder using brain entropy: A fast entropy method. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2020; 190:105240. [PMID: 31806393 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2019.105240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Previous resting-state fMRI-based diagnostic models for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were based on traditional linear features. The complexity of the ASD brain remains unexplored. METHODS To increase our understanding of the nonlinear neural mechanisms in ASD, entropy (i.e., approximate entropy (ApEn) and sample entropy (SampEn)) method was used to analyze the resting-state fMRI datasets collected from 21 ASD patients and 26 typically developing (TD) individuals. Here, a fast entropy algorithm was proposed through matrix computation. We combined entropy with a support-vector machine and selected "important entropy" as features to diagnose ASD. The classification performance of the fast entropy method was compared to the state-of-the-art functional connectivity (FC) method. RESULTS The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve based on FC was 0.62. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves based on ApEn and SampEn were 0.79 and 0.89, respectively. The results showed that the proposed fast entropy method was more efficacious than the FC method. In addition, lower entropy was found in the ASD patients. The ApEn of the left postcentral gyrus (rs = -0.556, p = 0.009) and the SampEn of the right lingual gyrus (rs = -0.526, p = 0.014) were both significantly negatively related to Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule total scores in the ASD patients. The proposed algorithm for entropy computation was faster than the traditional entropy method. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides a new perspective to better understand the neural mechanisms of ASD. Brain entropy based on a fast algorithm was applied to distinguish ASD patients from TD individuals. ApEn and SampEn could be potential biomarkers in ASD investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangliang Zhang
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xun-Heng Wang
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Instrumentation, School of Automation, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Lihua Li
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China; Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Instrumentation, School of Automation, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
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22
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Sciara AN, Beasley B, Crawford JD, Anderson EP, Carrasco T, Zheng S, Ordway GA, Chandley MJ. Neuroinflammatory Gene Expression Alterations in Anterior Cingulate Cortical White and Gray Matter of Males With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res 2020; 13:870-884. [PMID: 32129578 PMCID: PMC7540672 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Revised: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Evidence for putative pathophysiological mechanisms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including peripheral inflammation, blood-brain barrier disruption, white matter alterations, and abnormal synaptic overgrowth, indicate a possible involvement of neuroinflammation in the disorder. Neuroinflammation plays a role in the development and maintenance of the dendritic spines involved in glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission, and also influences blood-brain permeability. Cytokines released from microglia can impact the length, location or organization of dendritic spines on excitatory and inhibitory cells as well as recruit and impact glial cell function around the neurons. In this study, gene expression levels of anti- and pro-inflammatory signaling molecules, as well as oligodendrocyte and astrocyte marker proteins, were measured in both gray and white matter tissue in the anterior cingulate cortex from ASD and age-matched typically developing (TD) control brain donors, ranging from ages 4 to 37 years. Expression levels of the pro-inflammatory gene, HLA-DR, were significantly reduced in gray matter and expression levels of the anti-inflammatory gene MRC1 were significantly elevated in white matter from ASD donors as compared to TD donors, but neither retained statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons. Modest trends toward differences in expression levels were also observed for the pro-inflammatory (CD68, IL1β) and anti-inflammatory genes (IGF1, IGF1R) comparing ASD donors to TD donors. The direction of gene expression changes comparing ASD to TD donors did not reveal consistent findings implicating an elevated pro- or anti-inflammatory state in ASD. However, altered expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory gene expression indicates some involvement of neuroinflammation in ASD. Autism Res 2020, 13: 870-884. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The anterior cingulate cortex is an integral brain region in modulating social behaviors including nonverbal communication. The study found that inflammatory gene expression levels were altered in this brain region. We hypothesize that the inflammatory changes in this area could impact neuronal function. The finding has future implications in using these molecular markers to identify potential environmental exposures and distinct cell differences in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aubrey N. Sciara
- Department of Biological SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTennessee
| | - Brooke Beasley
- Department of Health SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTN
| | - Jessica D. Crawford
- Department of Biomedical SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTN
| | - Emma P. Anderson
- Department of Health SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTN
| | - Tiffani Carrasco
- Department of Health SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTN
| | - Shimin Zheng
- Department of Biostatistics and EpidemiologyEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTN
| | - Gregory A. Ordway
- Department of Biomedical SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTN
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesEast Tennessee State University, Johnson CityJohnson CityTN
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23
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Zhang M, Yang F, Fan F, Wang Z, Hong X, Tan Y, Tan S, Hong LE. Abnormal amygdala subregional-sensorimotor connectivity correlates with positive symptom in schizophrenia. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 26:102218. [PMID: 32126520 PMCID: PMC7052514 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Functional connectivity between amygdala subregions and the brain was studied with resting-state (RS) functional MRI. RS functional connectivity was compared between patients with first episode schizophrenia (FES) and healthy controls. FES patients showed changes in functional connectivity between amygdala subregions and sensorimotor cortex. Altered basolateral amygdala-precentral gyrus connectivity correlated with positive symptoms in FES patients.
Altered resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the amygdala has been demonstrated to be implicated in schizophrenia neuronal pathophysiology. However, whether rsFC of amygdala subregions is differentially affected in schizophrenia remains unclear. This study compared the functional networks of each amygdala subdivision between healthy controls (HC) and patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES). In total, 47 HC and 78 patients with FES underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The amygdala was divided into the following three subregions using the Juelich histological atlas: basolateral amygdala (BLA), centromedial amygdala (CMA), and superficial amygdala (SFA). The rsFC of the three amygdala subdivisions was computed and compared between the two groups. Significantly increased rsFC of the right CMA with the right postcentral gyrus and decreased rsFC of the right BLA with the left precentral gyrus were observed in the FES group compared with the HC group. Notably, the right BLA-left precentral gyrus connectivity was negatively correlated with positive symptoms and conceptual disorganization in patients with FES. In conclusion, this study found that patients with FES had abnormal functional connectivity in the amygdala subregions, and the altered rsFC was associated with positive symptoms. The present findings demonstrate the disruptive rsFC patterns of amygdala subregional-sensorimotor networks in FES and may provide new insights into the neuronal pathophysiology of FES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Zhang
- Peking University HuiLonGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Beijing 100096, China
| | - Fude Yang
- Peking University HuiLonGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Beijing 100096, China.
| | - Fengmei Fan
- Peking University HuiLonGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Beijing 100096, China
| | - Zhiren Wang
- Peking University HuiLonGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Beijing 100096, China
| | - Xiang Hong
- Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital, Chongqing 404000, China
| | - Yunlong Tan
- Peking University HuiLonGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Beijing 100096, China
| | - Shuping Tan
- Peking University HuiLonGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Beijing 100096, China.
| | - L Elliot Hong
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21288, United States
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24
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Lu J, Xiao M, Guo X, Liang Y, Wang M, Xu J, Liu L, Wang Z, Zeng G, Liu K, Li L, Yao P. Maternal Diabetes Induces Immune Dysfunction in Autistic Offspring Through Oxidative Stress in Hematopoietic Stem Cells. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:576367. [PMID: 33101089 PMCID: PMC7495463 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.576367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been found to be associated with immune dysfunction and elevated cytokines, although the detailed mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the potential mechanisms through a maternal diabetes-induced autistic mouse model. We found that maternal diabetes-induced autistic offspring have epigenetic changes on the superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) promoter with subsequent SOD2 suppression in both hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Bone marrow transplantation of normal HSC to maternal diabetes-induced autistic offspring transferred epigenetic modifications to PBMC and significantly reversed SOD2 suppression and oxidative stress and elevated inflammatory cytokine levels. Further, in vivo human study showed that SOD2 mRNA expression from PBMC in the ASD group was reduced to ~12% compared to typically developing group, and the SOD2 mRNA level-based ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve shows a very high sensitivity and specificity for ASD patients. We conclude that maternal diabetes induces immune dysfunction in autistic offspring through SOD2 suppression and oxidative stress in HSC. SOD2 mRNA expression in PBMC may be a good biomarker for ASD diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianping Lu
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Meifang Xiao
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China
| | - Xiaoling Guo
- Department of Pediatrics, Foshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Yujie Liang
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Min Wang
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China
| | - Jianchang Xu
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Liyan Liu
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China
| | - Zichen Wang
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Gang Zeng
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China
| | - Kelly Liu
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China
| | - Ling Li
- Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China
| | - Paul Yao
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China.,Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China
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25
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Sato W, Uono S, Kochiyama T. Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Social Atypicalities in Autism: Weak Amygdala's Emotional Modulation Hypothesis. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:864. [PMID: 33088275 PMCID: PMC7500257 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with atypicalities in social interaction. Although psychological and neuroimaging studies have revealed divergent impairments in psychological processes (e.g., emotion and perception) and neural activity (e.g., amygdala, superior temporal sulcus, and inferior frontal gyrus) related to the processing of social stimuli, it remains difficult to integrate these findings. In an effort to resolve this issue, we review our psychological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) findings and present a hypothetical neurocognitive model. Our psychological study showed that emotional modulation of reflexive joint attention is impaired in individuals with ASD. Our fMRI study showed that modulation from the amygdala to the neocortex during observation of dynamic facial expressions is reduced in the ASD group. Based on these findings and other evidence, we hypothesize that weak modulation from the amygdala to the neocortex-through which emotion rapidly modulates various types of perceptual, cognitive, and motor processing functions-underlies the social atypicalities in individuals with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Sato
- Psychological Process Team, BZP, RIKEN, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shota Uono
- Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research, Kyoto, Japan.,Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
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26
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Xu S, Li M, Yang C, Fang X, Ye M, Wei L, Liu J, Li B, Gan Y, Yang B, Huang W, Li P, Meng X, Wu Y, Jiang G. Altered Functional Connectivity in Children With Low-Function Autism Spectrum Disorders. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:806. [PMID: 31427923 PMCID: PMC6688725 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have shown that autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may be associated with abnormalities in brain structures and functions at rest as well as during cognitive tasks. However, it remains unclear if functional connectivity (FC) of all brain neural networks is also changed in these subjects. In this study, we acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging scans from 93 children with ASD and 79 matched healthy subjects. Group independent component analysis was executed for all of the participants to estimate FC. One-sample t-tests were then performed to obtain the networks for each group. Group differences in the different brain networks were tested using two-sample t-tests. Finally, relationships between abnormal FC and clinical variables were investigated with Pearson’s correlation analysis. The results from one-sample t-tests revealed nine networks with similar spatial patterns in these two groups. When compared with the controls, children with ASD showed increased connectivity in the right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) within the occipital pole network. Children with ASD also showed decreased connectivity in the left gyrus rectus, left middle occipital gyrus, right angular gyrus, right MFG and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), orbital part within the lateral visual network (LVN), the left IFG, right precuneus, and right angular gyrus within the left frontoparietal (cognition) network. Furthermore, the mean FC values within the LVN showed significant positive correlations with total score of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Our findings indicate that abnormal FC extensively exists within some networks in children with ASD. This abnormal FC may constitute a biomarker of ASD. Our results are an important contribution to the study of neuropathophysiological mechanisms in children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoujun Xu
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunlan Yang
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiangling Fang
- Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Miaoting Ye
- Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lei Wei
- Network Center, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jian Liu
- Network Center, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Baojuan Li
- Network Center, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yungen Gan
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Binrang Yang
- Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wenxian Huang
- Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Peng Li
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xianlei Meng
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yunfan Wu
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guihua Jiang
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
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27
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Connectivity-Based Parcellation of the Amygdala Predicts Social Skills in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 48:572-582. [PMID: 29119520 PMCID: PMC5807492 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3370-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Amygdala dysfunction plays a role in the social impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but it is unclear which of its subregions are abnormal in ASD. This study compared the volume and functional connectivity (FC) strength of three FC-defined amygdala subregions between ASD and controls, and assessed their relation to social skills in ASD. A subregion associated with the social perception network was enlarged in ASD (F1 = 7.842, p = .008) and its volume correlated significantly with symptom severity (social skills: r = .548, p = .009). Posthoc analysis revealed that the enlargement was driven by the vmPFC amygdala network. These findings refine our understanding of abnormal amygdala connectivity in ASD and may inform future strategies for therapeutic interventions targeting the amygdalofrontal pathway.
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28
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Dekhil O, Ali M, El-Nakieb Y, Shalaby A, Soliman A, Switala A, Mahmoud A, Ghazal M, Hajjdiab H, Casanova MF, Elmaghraby A, Keynton R, El-Baz A, Barnes G. A Personalized Autism Diagnosis CAD System Using a Fusion of Structural MRI and Resting-State Functional MRI Data. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:392. [PMID: 31333507 PMCID: PMC6620533 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder is a neuro-developmental disorder that affects the social abilities of the patients. Yet, the gold standard of autism diagnosis is the autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS). In this study, we are implementing a computer-aided diagnosis system that utilizes structural MRI (sMRI) and resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) to demonstrate that both anatomical abnormalities and functional connectivity abnormalities have high prediction ability of autism. The proposed system studies how the anatomical and functional connectivity metrics provide an overall diagnosis of whether the subject is autistic or not and are correlated with ADOS scores. The system provides a personalized report per subject to show what areas are more affected by autism-related impairment. Our system achieved accuracies of 75% when using fMRI data only, 79% when using sMRI data only, and 81% when fusing both together. Such a system achieves an important next step towards delineating the neurocircuits responsible for the autism diagnosis and hence may provide better options for physicians in devising personalized treatment plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar Dekhil
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Mohamed Ali
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Yaser El-Nakieb
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Ahmed Shalaby
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Ahmed Soliman
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Andrew Switala
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Ali Mahmoud
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Mohammed Ghazal
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States.,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Hassan Hajjdiab
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Manuel F Casanova
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina, Greenville, SC, United States
| | - Adel Elmaghraby
- Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Robert Keynton
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Ayman El-Baz
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Gregory Barnes
- Department of Neurology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
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29
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Iidaka T, Kogata T, Mano Y, Komeda H. Thalamocortical Hyperconnectivity and Amygdala-Cortical Hypoconnectivity in Male Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:252. [PMID: 31057443 PMCID: PMC6482335 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Analyses of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) have been performed to investigate pathophysiological changes in the brains of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to typically developing controls (CTLs). However, the results of these previous studies, which have reported mixed patterns of hypo- and hyperconnectivity, are controversial, likely due to the small sample sizes and limited age range of included participants. Methods: To overcome this issue, we analyzed multisite neuroimaging data from a large sample (n = 626) of male participants aged between 5 and 29 years (mean age = 13 years). The rs-fMRI data were preprocessed using SPM12 and DPARSF software, and signal changes in 90 brain regions were extracted. Multiple linear regression was used to exclude the effect of site differences in connectivity data. Subcortical-cortical connectivity was computed using connectivities in the hippocampus, amygdala, caudate nucleus, putamen, pallidum, and thalamus. Eighty-eight connectivities in each structure were compared between patients with ASD and CTLs using multiple linear regression with group, age, and age × group interactions, head movement parameters, and overall connectivity as variables. Results: After correcting for multiple comparisons, patients in the ASD group exhibited significant increases in connectivity between the thalamus and 19 cortical regions distributed throughout the fronto-parietal lobes, including the temporo-parietal junction and posterior cingulate cortices. In addition, there were significant decreases in connectivity between the amygdala and six cortical regions. The mean effect size of hyperconnectivity (0.25) was greater than that for hypoconnectivity (0.08). No other subcortical structures showed significant group differences. A group-by-age interaction was observed for connectivity between the thalamus and motor-somatosensory areas. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that pathophysiological changes associated with ASD are more likely related to thalamocortical hyperconnectivity than to amygdala-cortical hypoconnectivity. Future studies should examine full sets of clinical and behavioral symptoms in combination with functional connectivity to explore possible biomarkers for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuya Iidaka
- Brain & Mind Research Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.,Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kogata
- Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Yoko Mano
- Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Hidetsugu Komeda
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Human Studies, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
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30
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Rogers CE, Lean RE, Wheelock MD, Smyser CD. Aberrant structural and functional connectivity and neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm children. J Neurodev Disord 2018; 10:38. [PMID: 30541449 PMCID: PMC6291944 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-018-9253-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Despite advances in antenatal and neonatal care, preterm birth remains a leading cause of neurological disabilities in children. Infants born prematurely, particularly those delivered at the earliest gestational ages, commonly demonstrate increased rates of impairment across multiple neurodevelopmental domains. Indeed, the current literature establishes that preterm birth is a leading risk factor for cerebral palsy, is associated with executive function deficits, increases risk for impaired receptive and expressive language skills, and is linked with higher rates of co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorders. These same infants also demonstrate elevated rates of aberrant cerebral structural and functional connectivity, with persistent changes evident across advanced magnetic resonance imaging modalities as early as the neonatal period. Emerging findings from cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations increasingly suggest that aberrant connectivity within key functional networks and white matter tracts may underlie the neurodevelopmental impairments common in this population. Main body This review begins by highlighting the elevated rates of neurodevelopmental disorders across domains in this clinical population, describes the patterns of aberrant structural and functional connectivity common in prematurely-born infants and children, and then reviews the increasingly established body of literature delineating the relationship between these brain abnormalities and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. We also detail important, typically understudied, clinical, and social variables that may influence these relationships among preterm children, including heritability and psychosocial risks. Conclusion Future work in this domain should continue to leverage longitudinal evaluations of preterm infants which include both neuroimaging and detailed serial neurodevelopmental assessments to further characterize relationships between imaging measures and impairment, information necessary for advancing our understanding of modifiable risk factors underlying these disorders and best practices for improving neurodevelopmental trajectories in this high-risk clinical population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia E Rogers
- Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8504, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Rachel E Lean
- Departments of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8504, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Departments of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8504, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Christopher D Smyser
- Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics and Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8111, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
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31
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Odriozola P, Dajani DR, Burrows CA, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Goodman E, Baez AC, Tottenham N, Uddin LQ, Gee DG. Atypical frontoamygdala functional connectivity in youth with autism. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 37:100603. [PMID: 30581125 PMCID: PMC6570504 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Revised: 11/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Functional connectivity (FC) between the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex underlies socioemotional functioning, a core domain of impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although frontoamygdala circuitry undergoes dynamic changes throughout development, little is known about age-related changes in frontoamygdala networks in ASD. Here we characterize frontoamygdala resting-state FC in a cross-sectional sample (ages 7–25) of 58 typically developing (TD) individuals and 53 individuals with ASD. Contrary to hypotheses, individuals with ASD did not show different age-related patterns of frontoamygdala FC compared with TD individuals. However, overall group differences in frontoamygdala FC were observed. Specifically, relative to TD individuals, individuals with ASD showed weaker frontoamygdala FC between the right basolateral (BL) amygdala and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). These findings extend prior work to a broader developmental range in ASD, and indicate ASD-related differences in frontoamygdala FC that may underlie core socioemotional impairments in children and adolescents with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Odriozola
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA.
| | - Dina R Dajani
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
| | | | | | - Emma Goodman
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Adriana C Baez
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA; Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami FL, 33136, USA
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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32
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Williams ZJ, Failla MD, Gotham KO, Woynaroski TG, Cascio C. Psychometric Evaluation of the Short Sensory Profile in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 48:4231-4249. [PMID: 30019274 PMCID: PMC6219913 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3678-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The Short Sensory Profile (SSP) is one of the most commonly used measures of sensory features in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but psychometric studies in this population are limited. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we evaluated the structural validity of the SSP subscales in ASD children. Confirmatory factor models exhibited poor fit, and a follow-up exploratory factor analysis suggested a 9-factor structure that only replicated three of the seven original subscales. Secondary analyses suggest that while reliable, the SSP total score is substantially biased by individual differences on dimensions other than the general factor. Overall, our findings discourage the use of the SSP total score and most subscale scores in children with ASD. Implications for future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary J Williams
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, USA.
| | - Michelle D Failla
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, USA
| | - Katherine O Gotham
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA
| | - Tiffany G Woynaroski
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA
| | - Carissa Cascio
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA
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Dekhil O, Hajjdiab H, Shalaby A, Ali MT, Ayinde B, Switala A, Elshamekh A, Ghazal M, Keynton R, Barnes G, El-Baz A. Using resting state functional MRI to build a personalized autism diagnosis system. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206351. [PMID: 30379950 PMCID: PMC6209234 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder associated with social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted and repetitive behaviors. Yet, there is no confirmed cause identified for ASD. Studying the functional connectivity of the brain is an emerging technique used in diagnosing and understanding ASD. In this study, we obtained the resting state functional MRI data of 283 subjects from the National Database of Autism Research (NDAR). An automated autism diagnosis system was built using the data from NDAR. The proposed system is machine learning based. Power spectral densities (PSDs) of time courses corresponding to the spatial activation areas are used as input features, feeds them to a stacked autoencoder then builds a classifier using probabilistic support vector machines. Over the used dataset, around 90% of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy was achieved by our machine learning system. Moreover, the system generalization ability was checked over two different prevalence values, one for the general population and the other for the of high risk population, and the system proved to be very generalizable, especially among the population of high risk. The proposed system generates a full personalized report for each subject, along with identifying the global differences between ASD and typically developed (TD) subjects and its ability to diagnose autism. It shows the impacted areas and the severity of implications. From the clinical aspect, this report is considered very valuable as it helps in both predicting and understanding behavior of autistic subjects. Moreover, it helps in designing a plan for personalized treatment per each individual subject. The proposed work is taking a step towards achieving personalized medicine in autism which is the ultimate goal of our group's research efforts in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar Dekhil
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Hassan Hajjdiab
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ahmed Shalaby
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Mohamed T. Ali
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Babajide Ayinde
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Andy Switala
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Aliaa Elshamekh
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Mohamed Ghazal
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Robert Keynton
- Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Gregory Barnes
- Department of Neurology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
| | - Ayman El-Baz
- Bioimaging Lab, Bioengineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States of America
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Fishman I, Linke AC, Hau J, Carper RA, Müller RA. Atypical Functional Connectivity of Amygdala Related to Reduced Symptom Severity in Children With Autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2018; 57:764-774.e3. [PMID: 30274651 PMCID: PMC6230473 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2018.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2017] [Revised: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Converging evidence indicates that brain abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) involve atypical network connectivity. Given the central role of social deficits in the ASD phenotype, this investigation examined functional connectivity of the amygdala-a brain structure critically involved in processing of social information-in children and adolescents with ASDs, as well as age-dependent changes and links with clinical symptoms. METHOD Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 55 participants with ASDs and 50 typically developing (TD) controls, aged 7 to 17 years, were included. Groups were matched for age, gender, IQ, and head motion. Functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) analysis was applied to examine intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of the amygdala, including cross-sectional tests of age-related changes. RESULTS Direct between-group comparisons revealed reduced functional connectivity between bilateral amygdalae and left inferior occipital cortex, accompanied by greater connectivity between right amygdala and right sensorimotor cortex in the ASD group. This atypical pattern of amygdala connectivity was associated with decreased symptom severity and better overall functioning, as specifically seen in an ASD subgroup with the most atypical amygdala iFC but the least impaired social functioning. Age-related strengthening of amygdala-prefrontal connectivity, as observed in the TD group, was not detected in children with ASDs. CONCLUSION Findings support aberrant network sculpting in ASDs, specifically atypical integration between amygdala and primary sensorimotor circuits. Paradoxical links between atypical iFC and behavioral measures suggest that abnormal amygdala functional connections may be compensatory in some individuals with ASDs.
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Pereira AM, Campos BM, Coan AC, Pegoraro LF, de Rezende TJR, Obeso I, Dalgalarrondo P, da Costa JC, Dreher JC, Cendes F. Differences in Cortical Structure and Functional MRI Connectivity in High Functioning Autism. Front Neurol 2018; 9:539. [PMID: 30042724 PMCID: PMC6048242 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2017] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a complex group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by deficits in communication and social behaviors. We examined the functional connectivity (FC) of the default mode network (DMN) and its relation to multimodal morphometry to investigate superregional, system-level alterations in a group of 22 adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism compared to age-, and intelligence quotient-matched 29 healthy controls. The main findings were that ASD patients had gray matter (GM) reduction, decreased cortical thickness and larger cortical surface areas in several brain regions, including the cingulate, temporal lobes, and amygdala, as well as increased gyrification in regions associated with encoding visual memories and areas of the sensorimotor component of the DMN, more pronounced in the left hemisphere. Moreover, patients with ASD had decreased connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex, and areas of the executive control component of the DMN and increased FC between the anteromedial prefrontal cortex and areas of the sensorimotor component of the DMN. Reduced cortical thickness in the right inferior frontal lobe correlated with higher social impairment according to the scores of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). Reduced cortical thickness in left frontal regions, as well as an increased cortical thickness in the right temporal pole and posterior cingulate, were associated with worse scores on the communication domain of the ADI-R. We found no association between scores on the restrictive and repetitive behaviors domain of ADI-R with structural measures or FC. The combination of these structural and connectivity abnormalities may help to explain some of the core behaviors in high-functioning ASD and need to be investigated further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra M. Pereira
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, School of Medical Sciences, The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
- Department of Pediatrics, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Brunno M. Campos
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, School of Medical Sciences, The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Ana C. Coan
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, School of Medical Sciences, The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Luiz F. Pegoraro
- Department of Psychiatry, State University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Thiago J. R. de Rezende
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, School of Medical Sciences, The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Ignacio Obeso
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Reward and Decision Making Group, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5229, Lyon, France
- Centro Integral en Neurociencias A.C., Hospital HM Puerta del Sur en Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Jaderson C. da Costa
- Department of Pediatrics, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Brain Institute (InsCer), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Jean-Claude Dreher
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Reward and Decision Making Group, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5229, Lyon, France
| | - Fernando Cendes
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, School of Medical Sciences, The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
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36
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Hennessey T, Andari E, Rainnie DG. RDoC-based categorization of amygdala functions and its implications in autism. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 90:115-129. [PMID: 29660417 PMCID: PMC6250055 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Confusion endures as to the exact role of the amygdala in relation to autism. To help resolve this we turned to the NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) which provides a classification schema that identifies different categories of behaviors that can turn pathologic in mental health disorders, e.g. autism. While RDoC incorporates all the known neurobiological substrates for each domain, this review will focus primarily on the amygdala. We first consider the amygdala from an anatomical, historical, and developmental perspective. Next, we examine the different domains and constructs of RDoC that the amygdala is involved in: Negative Valence Systems, Positive Valence Systems, Cognitive Systems, Social Processes, and Arousal and Regulatory Systems. Then the evidence for a dysfunctional amygdala in autism is presented with a focus on alterations in development, prenatal valproic acid exposure as a model for ASD, and changes in the oxytocin system therein. Finally, a synthesis of RDoC, the amygdala, and autism is offered, emphasizing the task of disambiguation and suggestions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Hennessey
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States
| | - Elissar Andari
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, United States
| | - Donald G Rainnie
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States.
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37
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Zhang X, Cheng H, Zuo Z, Zhou K, Cong F, Wang B, Zhuo Y, Chen L, Xue R, Fan Y. Individualized Functional Parcellation of the Human Amygdala Using a Semi-supervised Clustering Method: A 7T Resting State fMRI Study. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:270. [PMID: 29755313 PMCID: PMC5932177 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The amygdala plays an important role in emotional functions and its dysfunction is considered to be associated with multiple psychiatric disorders in humans. Cytoarchitectonic mapping has demonstrated that the human amygdala complex comprises several subregions. However, it's difficult to delineate boundaries of these subregions in vivo even if using state of the art high resolution structural MRI. Previous attempts to parcellate this small structure using unsupervised clustering methods based on resting state fMRI data suffered from the low spatial resolution of typical fMRI data, and it remains challenging for the unsupervised methods to define subregions of the amygdala in vivo. In this study, we developed a novel brain parcellation method to segment the human amygdala into spatially contiguous subregions based on 7T high resolution fMRI data. The parcellation was implemented using a semi-supervised spectral clustering (SSC) algorithm at an individual subject level. Under guidance of prior information derived from the Julich cytoarchitectonic atlas, our method clustered voxels of the amygdala into subregions according to similarity measures of their functional signals. As a result, three distinct amygdala subregions can be obtained in each hemisphere for every individual subject. Compared with the cytoarchitectonic atlas, our method achieved better performance in terms of subregional functional homogeneity. Validation experiments have also demonstrated that the amygdala subregions obtained by our method have distinctive, lateralized functional connectivity (FC) patterns. Our study has demonstrated that the semi-supervised brain parcellation method is a powerful tool for exploring amygdala subregional functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianchang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing MR Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hewei Cheng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Bioinformatics, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhentao Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing MR Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ke Zhou
- College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fei Cong
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing MR Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing MR Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Zhuo
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing MR Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing MR Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China
| | - Rong Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing MR Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China
| | - Yong Fan
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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38
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Bi XA, Zhao J, Xu Q, Sun Q, Wang Z. Abnormal Functional Connectivity of Resting State Network Detection Based on Linear ICA Analysis in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Physiol 2018; 9:475. [PMID: 29867534 PMCID: PMC5952255 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Some functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) researches in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients have shown that ASD patients have significant impairment in brain response. However, few researchers have studied the functional structure changes of the eight resting state networks (RSNs) in ASD patients. Therefore, research on statistical differences of RSNs between 42 healthy controls (HC) and 50 ASD patients has been studied using linear independent component analysis (ICA) in this paper. Our researches showed that there was abnormal functional connectivity (FC) of RSNs in ASD patients. The RSNs with the decreased FC and increased FC in ASD patients included default mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN), core network (CN), visual network (VN), self-referential network (SRN) compared to HC. The RSNs with the increased FC in ASD patients included auditory network (AN), somato-motor network (SMN). The dorsal attention network (DAN) in ASD patients showed the decreased FC. Our findings indicate that the abnormal FC in RSNs extensively exists in ASD patients. Our results have important contribution for the study of neuro-pathophysiological mechanisms in ASD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia-An Bi
- College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Junxia Zhao
- College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Qian Xu
- College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Qi Sun
- College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhigang Wang
- College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
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Bielczyk NZ, Walocha F, Ebel PW, Haak KV, Llera A, Buitelaar JK, Glennon JC, Beckmann CF. Thresholding functional connectomes by means of mixture modeling. Neuroimage 2018; 171:402-414. [PMID: 29309896 PMCID: PMC5981009 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2017] [Revised: 12/30/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional connectivity has been shown to be a very promising tool for studying the large-scale functional architecture of the human brain. In network research in fMRI, functional connectivity is considered as a set of pair-wise interactions between the nodes of the network. These interactions are typically operationalized through the full or partial correlation between all pairs of regional time series. Estimating the structure of the latent underlying functional connectome from the set of pair-wise partial correlations remains an open research problem though. Typically, this thresholding problem is approached by proportional thresholding, or by means of parametric or non-parametric permutation testing across a cohort of subjects at each possible connection. As an alternative, we propose a data-driven thresholding approach for network matrices on the basis of mixture modeling. This approach allows for creating subject-specific sparse connectomes by modeling the full set of partial correlations as a mixture of low correlation values associated with weak or unreliable edges in the connectome and a sparse set of reliable connections. Consequently, we propose to use alternative thresholding strategy based on the model fit using pseudo-False Discovery Rates derived on the basis of the empirical null estimated as part of the mixture distribution. We evaluate the method on synthetic benchmark fMRI datasets where the underlying network structure is known, and demonstrate that it gives improved performance with respect to the alternative methods for thresholding connectomes, given the canonical thresholding levels. We also demonstrate that mixture modeling gives highly reproducible results when applied to the functional connectomes of the visual system derived from the n-back Working Memory task in the Human Connectome Project. The sparse connectomes obtained from mixture modeling are further discussed in the light of the previous knowledge of the functional architecture of the visual system in humans. We also demonstrate that with use of our method, we are able to extract similar information on the group level as can be achieved with permutation testing even though these two methods are not equivalent. We demonstrate that with both of these methods, we obtain functional decoupling between the two hemispheres in the higher order areas of the visual cortex during visual stimulation as compared to the resting state, which is in line with previous studies suggesting lateralization in the visual processing. However, as opposed to permutation testing, our approach does not require inference at the cohort level and can be used for creating sparse connectomes at the level of a single subject.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Z Bielczyk
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Geert Groteplein Zuid 10, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Fabian Walocha
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; University of Osnabrück, Neuer Graben 29/Schloss, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Patrick W Ebel
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud University Nijmegen, Comeniuslaan 4, 6525 HP Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Koen V Haak
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Geert Groteplein Zuid 10, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Alberto Llera
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud University Nijmegen, Comeniuslaan 4, 6525 HP Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan K Buitelaar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Geert Groteplein Zuid 10, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jeffrey C Glennon
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Geert Groteplein Zuid 10, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Christian F Beckmann
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Geert Groteplein Zuid 10, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
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40
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Bujnakova I, Ondrejka I, Mestanik M, Fleskova D, Sekaninova N, Farsky I, Tonhajzerova I. Potential Effect of Pharmacotherapy on Sympathetic Arousal in Autism. ACTA MEDICA MARTINIANA 2018. [DOI: 10.1515/acm-2017-0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder associated with autonomic nervous system (ANS) abnormalities. Moreover, at least 50% of children with ASD suffer from other comorbid diseases such as anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) associated with receiving psychotropic medication. From this context we aimed to evaluate changes in sympathetic arousal using analysis of electrodermal activity (EDA) as an index of sympathetic cholinergic activity in treated and non-treated autistic children under resting conditions.
Methods: We examined 23 children with ASD and 14 healthy age- and gender-matched children at the age of 7–15 years. The ASD patients were divided into ASD non-treated group (n=12) and ASD treated group (n=11). The EDA was continuously monitored during resting phase in a supine position. The EDA amplitude (μS) was computed as an average of 5 min baseline period.
Results: We found significantly lower EDA in ASD non-treated subgroup compared to controls indicating subtle abnormalities in the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Although no significant differences were found between the ASD treated and non-treated subgroups the ASD treated group showed comparable sympathetic activity relative to controls indicating a potential ameliorated treatment effect on sympathetic arousal in ASD.
Conclusions: These findings could help to determine differences in sympathetic arousal in treated and non-treated children with ASD, which is important for assessment of autism-linked cardiovascular risk depending on pharmacotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Bujnakova
- Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
- Department of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
| | - I Ondrejka
- Clinic of Psychiatry, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Martin , Slovakia
| | - M Mestanik
- Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
| | - D Fleskova
- Clinic of Psychiatry, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Martin , Slovakia
| | - N Sekaninova
- Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
- Department of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
| | - I Farsky
- Department of Nursing, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
- Clinic of Psychiatry, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Martin , Slovakia
| | - I Tonhajzerova
- Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
- Department of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin , Comenius University in Bratislava , Martin , Slovakia
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41
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Fakhoury M. Imaging genetics in autism spectrum disorders: Linking genetics and brain imaging in the pursuit of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 80:101-114. [PMID: 28322981 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.02.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2016] [Revised: 02/22/2017] [Accepted: 02/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) include a wide range of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions that affect an individual in several aspects of social communication and behavior. Recent advances in molecular genetic technologies have dramatically increased our understanding of ASD etiology through the identification of several autism risk genes, most of which serve important functions in synaptic plasticity and protein synthesis. However, despite significant progress in this field of research, the characterization of the neurobiological mechanisms by which common genetic risk variants might operate to give rise to ASD symptomatology has proven to be far more difficult than expected. The imaging genetics approach holds great promise for advancing our understanding of ASD etiology by bridging the gap between genetic variations and their resultant biological effects on the brain. This paper provides a conceptual overview of the contribution of genetics in ASD and discusses key findings from the emerging field of imaging genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Fakhoury
- Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada.
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42
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Li L, Li M, Lu J, Ge X, Xie W, Wang Z, Li X, Li C, Wang X, Han Y, Wang Y, Zhong L, Xiang W, Huang X, Chen H, Yao P. Prenatal Progestin Exposure Is Associated With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Front Psychiatry 2018; 9:611. [PMID: 30510526 PMCID: PMC6252360 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We have previously reported that prenatal progestin exposure induces autism-like behavior in offspring through ERβ (estrogen receptor β) suppression in the brain, indicating that progestin may induce autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this study, we aim to investigate whether prenatal progestin exposure is associated with ASD. A population-based case-control epidemiology study was conducted in Hainan province of China. The ASD children were first screened with the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) questionnaire, and then diagnosed by clinical professionals using the ASD diagnosis criteria found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V). Eventually, 235 cases were identified as ASD from 37863 children aged 0-6 years old, and 682 matched control subjects with typically developing children were selected for the analysis of potential impact factors on ASD prevalence using multivariate logistic regression. Our data show that the ASD prevalence rate in Hainan was 0.62% with a boy:girl ratio of 5.4:1. Interestingly, we found that the following factors were strongly associated with ASD prevalence: use of progestin to prevent threatened abortion, use of progestin contraceptives at the time of conception, and prenatal consumption of progestin-contaminated seafood during the first trimester of pregnancy. All the above factors were directly or indirectly involved with prenatal progestin exposure. Additionally, we conducted in vivo experiments in rats to further confirm our findings. Either endogenous (progesterone) or synthetic progestin (norethindrone)-treated seafood zebrafish were used to feed pregnant dams, and the subsequent offspring showed autism-like behavior, which further demonstrated that prenatal progestin exposure may induce ASD. We conclude that prenatal progestin exposure may be associated with ASD development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Li
- Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Haikou, China
| | - Min Li
- Institute of Rehabilitation Center, Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jianping Lu
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaohu Ge
- SALIAI Stem Cell Institute of Guangdong, Guangzhou SALIAI Stem Cell Science and Technology Co. LTD., Guangzhou, China
| | - Weiguo Xie
- Institute of Rehabilitation Center, Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zichen Wang
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaoling Li
- Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Haikou, China
| | - Chao Li
- Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Haikou, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wang
- SALIAI Stem Cell Institute of Guangdong, Guangzhou SALIAI Stem Cell Science and Technology Co. LTD., Guangzhou, China
| | - Yan Han
- Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Haikou, China
| | - Yifei Wang
- SALIAI Stem Cell Institute of Guangdong, Guangzhou SALIAI Stem Cell Science and Technology Co. LTD., Guangzhou, China
| | - Liyan Zhong
- Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Haikou, China
| | - Wei Xiang
- Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Haikou, China
| | - Xiaodong Huang
- Institute of Rehabilitation Center, Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Haijia Chen
- SALIAI Stem Cell Institute of Guangdong, Guangzhou SALIAI Stem Cell Science and Technology Co. LTD., Guangzhou, China
| | - Paul Yao
- Department of Pediatrics, Hainan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Haikou, China.,Institute of Rehabilitation Center, Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,Department of Child Psychiatry, Kangning Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
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43
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Duan X, Chen H, He C, Long Z, Guo X, Zhou Y, Uddin LQ, Chen H. Resting-state functional under-connectivity within and between large-scale cortical networks across three low-frequency bands in adolescents with autism. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017; 79:434-441. [PMID: 28779909 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.07.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Although evidence is accumulating that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with disruption of functional connections between and within brain networks, it remains largely unknown whether these abnormalities are related to specific frequency bands. To address this question, network contingency analysis was performed on brain functional connectomes obtained from 213 adolescent participants across nine sites in the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) multisite sample, to determine the disrupted connections between and within seven major cortical networks in adolescents with ASD at Slow-5, Slow-4 and Slow-3 frequency bands and further assess whether the aberrant intra- and inter-network connectivity varied as a function of ASD symptoms. Overall under-connectivity within and between large-scale intrinsic networks in ASD was revealed across the three frequency bands. Specifically, decreased connectivity strength within the default mode network (DMN), between DMN and visual network (VN), ventral attention network (VAN), and between dorsal attention network (DAN) and VAN was observed in the lower frequency band (slow-5, slow-4), while decreased connectivity between limbic network (LN) and frontal-parietal network (FPN) was observed in the higher frequency band (slow-3). Furthermore, weaker connectivity within and between specific networks correlated with poorer communication and social interaction skills in the slow-5 band, uniquely. These results demonstrate intrinsic under-connectivity within and between multiple brain networks within predefined frequency bands in ASD, suggesting that frequency-related properties underlie abnormal brain network organization in the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xujun Duan
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, PR China.
| | - Heng Chen
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Changchun He
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Zhiliang Long
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Xiaonan Guo
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Yuanyue Zhou
- Mental Health Center, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, United States
| | - Huafu Chen
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, PR China.
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44
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Varghese M, Keshav N, Jacot-Descombes S, Warda T, Wicinski B, Dickstein DL, Harony-Nicolas H, De Rubeis S, Drapeau E, Buxbaum JD, Hof PR. Autism spectrum disorder: neuropathology and animal models. Acta Neuropathol 2017; 134:537-566. [PMID: 28584888 PMCID: PMC5693718 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-017-1736-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 287] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Revised: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a major impact on the development and social integration of affected individuals and is the most heritable of psychiatric disorders. An increase in the incidence of ASD cases has prompted a surge in research efforts on the underlying neuropathologic processes. We present an overview of current findings in neuropathology studies of ASD using two investigational approaches, postmortem human brains and ASD animal models, and discuss the overlap, limitations, and significance of each. Postmortem examination of ASD brains has revealed global changes including disorganized gray and white matter, increased number of neurons, decreased volume of neuronal soma, and increased neuropil, the last reflecting changes in densities of dendritic spines, cerebral vasculature and glia. Both cortical and non-cortical areas show region-specific abnormalities in neuronal morphology and cytoarchitectural organization, with consistent findings reported from the prefrontal cortex, fusiform gyrus, frontoinsular cortex, cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, cerebellum and brainstem. The paucity of postmortem human studies linking neuropathology to the underlying etiology has been partly addressed using animal models to explore the impact of genetic and non-genetic factors clinically relevant for the ASD phenotype. Genetically modified models include those based on well-studied monogenic ASD genes (NLGN3, NLGN4, NRXN1, CNTNAP2, SHANK3, MECP2, FMR1, TSC1/2), emerging risk genes (CHD8, SCN2A, SYNGAP1, ARID1B, GRIN2B, DSCAM, TBR1), and copy number variants (15q11-q13 deletion, 15q13.3 microdeletion, 15q11-13 duplication, 16p11.2 deletion and duplication, 22q11.2 deletion). Models of idiopathic ASD include inbred rodent strains that mimic ASD behaviors as well as models developed by environmental interventions such as prenatal exposure to sodium valproate, maternal autoantibodies, and maternal immune activation. In addition to replicating some of the neuropathologic features seen in postmortem studies, a common finding in several animal models of ASD is altered density of dendritic spines, with the direction of the change depending on the specific genetic modification, age and brain region. Overall, postmortem neuropathologic studies with larger sample sizes representative of the various ASD risk genes and diverse clinical phenotypes are warranted to clarify putative etiopathogenic pathways further and to promote the emergence of clinically relevant diagnostic and therapeutic tools. In addition, as genetic alterations may render certain individuals more vulnerable to developing the pathological changes at the synapse underlying the behavioral manifestations of ASD, neuropathologic investigation using genetically modified animal models will help to improve our understanding of the disease mechanisms and enhance the development of targeted treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merina Varghese
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Neha Keshav
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Sarah Jacot-Descombes
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Children and Teenagers, University Hospitals and School of Medicine, Geneva, CH-1205, Switzerland
| | - Tahia Warda
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Bridget Wicinski
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Dara L Dickstein
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
| | - Hala Harony-Nicolas
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Silvia De Rubeis
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Elodie Drapeau
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Joseph D Buxbaum
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1639, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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45
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Chen H, Nomi JS, Uddin LQ, Duan X, Chen H. Intrinsic functional connectivity variance and state-specific under-connectivity in autism. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:5740-5755. [PMID: 28792117 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with altered brain connectivity. Previous neuroimaging research demonstrates inconsistent results, particularly in studies of functional connectivity in ASD. Typically, these inconsistent findings are results of studies using static measures of resting-state functional connectivity. Recent work has demonstrated that functional brain connections are dynamic, suggesting that static connectivity metrics fail to capture nuanced time-varying properties of functional connections in the brain. Here we used a dynamic functional connectivity approach to examine the differences in the strength and variance of dynamic functional connections between individuals with ASD and healthy controls (HCs). The variance of dynamic functional connections was defined as the respective standard deviations of the dynamic functional connectivity strength across time. We utilized a large multicenter dataset of 507 male subjects (209 with ASD and 298 HC, from 6 to 36 years old) from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) to identify six distinct whole-brain dynamic functional connectivity states. Analyses demonstrated greater variance of widespread long-range dynamic functional connections in ASD (P < 0.05, NBS method) and weaker dynamic functional connections in ASD (P < 0.05, NBS method) within specific whole-brain connectivity states. Hypervariant dynamic connections were also characterized by weaker connectivity strength in ASD compared with HC. Increased variance of dynamic functional connections was also related to ASD symptom severity (ADOS total score) (P < 0.05), and was most prominent in connections related to the medial superior frontal gyrus and temporal pole. These results demonstrate that greater intraindividual dynamic variance is a potential biomarker of ASD. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5740-5755, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heng Chen
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology and Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, People's Republic of China
| | - Jason S Nomi
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
| | - Xujun Duan
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology and Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, People's Republic of China
| | - Huafu Chen
- Key laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology and Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, People's Republic of China
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46
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Shah P, Catmur C, Bird G. Emotional decision-making in autism spectrum disorder: the roles of interoception and alexithymia. Mol Autism 2016; 7:43. [PMID: 27777716 PMCID: PMC5062918 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-016-0104-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The way choices are framed influences decision-making. These “framing effects” emerge through the integration of emotional responses into decision-making under uncertainty. It was previously reported that susceptibility to the framing effect was reduced in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to a reduced tendency to incorporate emotional information into the decision-making process. However, recent research indicates that, where observed, emotional processing impairments in ASD may be due to co-occurring alexithymia. Alexithymia is thought to arise due to impaired interoception (the ability to perceive the internal state of one’s body), raising the possibility that emotional signals are not perceived and thus not integrated into decision-making in those with alexithymia and that therefore reduced framing effects in ASD are a product of co-occurring alexithymia rather than ASD per se. Accordingly, the present study compared framing effects in autistic individuals with neurotypical controls matched for alexithymia. Results showed a marked deviation between groups. The framing effect was, in line with previous data, significantly smaller in autistic individuals, and there was no relationship between alexithymia or interoception and decision-making in the ASD group. In the neurotypical group, however, the size of the framing effect was associated with alexithymia and interoception, even after controlling for autistic traits. These results demonstrate that although framing effects are associated with interoception and alexithymia in the neurotypical population, emotional and interoceptive signals have less impact upon the decision-making process in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Punit Shah
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, University of London, London, SE5 8AF UK
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, University of London, London, UK
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK ; MRC SGDP Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, University of London, London, UK
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