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Tamon H, Fujino J, Itahashi T, Frahm L, Parlatini V, Aoki YY, Castellanos FX, Eickhoff SB, Cortese S. Shared and Specific Neural Correlates of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of 243 Task-Based Functional MRI Studies. Am J Psychiatry 2024; 181:541-552. [PMID: 38685858 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20230270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate shared and specific neural correlates of cognitive functions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the authors performed a comprehensive meta-analysis and considered a balanced set of neuropsychological tasks across the two disorders. METHODS A broad set of electronic databases was searched up to December 4, 2022, for task-based functional MRI studies investigating differences between individuals with ADHD or ASD and typically developing control subjects. Spatial coordinates of brain loci differing significantly between case and control subjects were extracted. To avoid potential diagnosis-driven selection bias of cognitive tasks, the tasks were grouped according to the Research Domain Criteria framework, and stratified sampling was used to match cognitive component profiles. Activation likelihood estimation was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS After screening 20,756 potentially relevant references, a meta-analysis of 243 studies was performed, which included 3,084 participants with ADHD (676 females), 2,654 participants with ASD (292 females), and 6,795 control subjects (1,909 females). ASD and ADHD showed shared greater activations in the lingual and rectal gyri and shared lower activations in regions including the middle frontal gyrus, the parahippocampal gyrus, and the insula. By contrast, there were ASD-specific greater and lower activations in regions including the left middle temporal gyrus and the left middle frontal gyrus, respectively, and ADHD-specific greater and lower activations in the amygdala and the global pallidus, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Although ASD and ADHD showed both shared and disorder-specific standardized neural activations, disorder-specific activations were more prominent than shared ones. Functional brain differences between ADHD and ASD are more likely to reflect diagnosis-related pathophysiology than bias from the selection of specific neuropsychological tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Tamon
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Junya Fujino
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Takashi Itahashi
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Lennart Frahm
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Valeria Parlatini
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Yuta Y Aoki
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Francisco Xavier Castellanos
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
| | - Samuele Cortese
- Division of Infant and Toddler Mental Health, Department of Psychosocial Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo (Tamon); Graduate School of Medicine and Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan (Tamon); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Fujino); Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Fujino); Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo (Itahashi, Aoki); Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany (Frahm, Eickhoff); Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (Eickhoff); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London (Parlatini); Aoki Clinic, Tokyo (Aoki); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. (Castellanos); Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Solent National Health System Trust, Southampton, U.K. (Cortese); Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, NYU Child Study Center, New York (Cortese); Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K. (Cortese); Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (Cortese)
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Guo Z, Tang X, Xiao S, Yan H, Sun S, Yang Z, Huang L, Chen Z, Wang Y. Systematic review and meta-analysis: multimodal functional and anatomical neural alterations in autism spectrum disorder. Mol Autism 2024; 15:16. [PMID: 38576034 PMCID: PMC10996269 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-024-00593-6] [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: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This meta-analysis aimed to explore the most robust findings across numerous existing resting-state functional imaging and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies on the functional and structural brain alterations in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS A whole-brain voxel-wise meta-analysis was conducted to compare the differences in the intrinsic functional activity and gray matter volume (GMV) between individuals with ASD and typically developing individuals (TDs) using Seed-based d Mapping software. RESULTS A total of 23 functional imaging studies (786 ASD, 710 TDs) and 52 VBM studies (1728 ASD, 1747 TDs) were included. Compared with TDs, individuals with ASD displayed resting-state functional decreases in the left insula (extending to left superior temporal gyrus [STG]), bilateral anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex (ACC/mPFC), left angular gyrus and right inferior temporal gyrus, as well as increases in the right supplementary motor area and precuneus. For VBM meta-analysis, individuals with ASD displayed decreased GMV in the ACC/mPFC and left cerebellum, and increased GMV in the left middle temporal gyrus (extending to the left insula and STG), bilateral olfactory cortex, and right precentral gyrus. Further, individuals with ASD displayed decreased resting-state functional activity and increased GMV in the left insula after overlapping the functional and structural differences. CONCLUSIONS The present multimodal meta-analysis demonstrated that ASD exhibited similar alterations in both function and structure of the insula and ACC/mPFC, and functional or structural alterations in the default mode network (DMN), primary motor and sensory regions. These findings contribute to further understanding of the pathophysiology of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zixuan Guo
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinyue Tang
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shu Xiao
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hong Yan
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shilin Sun
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zibin Yang
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Li Huang
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhuoming Chen
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
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Liloia D, Manuello J, Costa T, Keller R, Nani A, Cauda F. Atypical local brain connectivity in pediatric autism spectrum disorder? A coordinate-based meta-analysis of regional homogeneity studies. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024; 274:3-18. [PMID: 36599959 PMCID: PMC10787009 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-022-01541-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Despite decades of massive neuroimaging research, the comprehensive characterization of short-range functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains a major challenge for scientific advances and clinical translation. From the theoretical point of view, it has been suggested a generalized local over-connectivity that would characterize ASD. This stance is known as the general local over-connectivity theory. However, there is little empirical evidence supporting such hypothesis, especially with regard to pediatric individuals with ASD (age [Formula: see text] 18 years old). To explore this issue, we performed a coordinate-based meta-analysis of regional homogeneity studies to identify significant changes of local connectivity. Our analyses revealed local functional under-connectivity patterns in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and superior frontal gyrus (key components of the default mode network) and in the bilateral paracentral lobule (a part of the sensorimotor network). We also performed a functional association analysis of the identified areas, whose dysfunction is clinically consistent with the well-known deficits affecting individuals with ASD. Importantly, we did not find relevant clusters of local hyper-connectivity, which is contrary to the hypothesis that ASD may be characterized by generalized local over-connectivity. If confirmed, our result will provide a valuable insight into the understanding of the complex ASD pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donato Liloia
- GCS-fMRI Research Group, Koelliker Hospital and Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Giuseppe Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
- Functional Neuroimaging and Complex Neural Systems (FOCUS) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Jordi Manuello
- GCS-fMRI Research Group, Koelliker Hospital and Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Giuseppe Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
- Functional Neuroimaging and Complex Neural Systems (FOCUS) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Tommaso Costa
- GCS-fMRI Research Group, Koelliker Hospital and Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Giuseppe Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy.
- Functional Neuroimaging and Complex Neural Systems (FOCUS) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
- Neuroscience Institute of Turin (NIT), Turin, Italy.
| | - Roberto Keller
- Adult Autism Center, DSM Local Health Unit, ASL TO, Turin, Italy
| | - Andrea Nani
- Functional Neuroimaging and Complex Neural Systems (FOCUS) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Franco Cauda
- GCS-fMRI Research Group, Koelliker Hospital and Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Giuseppe Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
- Functional Neuroimaging and Complex Neural Systems (FOCUS) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute of Turin (NIT), Turin, Italy
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Xiang Z, Huang Y, Xu Y, Liu X, Huang X, Liu T, Yang Z, Jiang L, Chen Y, Chen J. Altered brain activity in diabetic patients with erectile dysfunction revealed by fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation: A resting-state fMRI study. Andrology 2024; 12:68-74. [PMID: 37058742 DOI: 10.1111/andr.13442] [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: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus is one of the major chronic diseases, which enhances the risk of erectile dysfunction. However, the central pathological mechanisms of erectile dysfunction in diabetes mellitus patients are still unclear. METHODS Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired in 30 type-2 diabetes mellitus, 31 type-2 diabetes mellitus with erectile dysfunction patients, and 31 healthy controls. The measure of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation was calculated and compared among groups. RESULTS Differences of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation values were found in the left superior frontal gyrus (medial) and middle temporal gyrus among three groups. Compared with healthy controls group, type-2 diabetes mellitus group exhibited lower fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation values in the left superior frontal gyrus (dorsolateral), anterior cingulate gyrus, calcarine fissure, and increased fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation values in the left post-central gyrus. Compared with healthy controls group, erectile dysfunction with type-2 diabetes mellitus group exhibited lower fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation values in the left superior frontal gyrus (medial), middle temporal gyrus, temporal middle (pole), and increased fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation values in the right post-central gyrus. Compared with type-2 diabetes mellitus group, erectile dysfunction with type-2 diabetes mellitus group exhibited increased fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation values in the right median cingulum gyrus and left calcarine fissure. CONCLUSION Erectile dysfunction with type-2 diabetes mellitus patients showed functional changes in brain regions that were closely correlated with sexual dysfunction, which suggested that altered regional brain activity might be related to the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction with type-2 diabetes mellitus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziliang Xiang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yingjun Huang
- Department of Endocrinology, Changzhou Wujin Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Changzhou, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Xue Liu
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Xinfei Huang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Tao Liu
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhaoxu Yang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Lin Jiang
- Department of Endocrinology, Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Chen
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianhuai Chen
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
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Wang Y, Wang F, Kong Y, Gao T, Zhu Q, Han L, Sun B, Guan L, Zhang Z, Qian Y, Xu L, Li Y, Fang H, Jiao G, Ke X. High definition transcranial direct current stimulation of the Cz improves social dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized, sham, controlled study. Autism Res 2023; 16:2035-2048. [PMID: 37695276 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3018] [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: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Cz of high-definition 5-channel tDCS (HD-tDCS) on social function in 4-12 years-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study was a randomized, double-blind, pseudo-controlled trial in which 45 ASD children were recruited and divided into three groups with sex, age, and rehabilitation treatment as control variables. Each group of 15 children with ASD was randomly administered active HD-tDCS with the Cz as the central anode, active HD-tDCS with the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) as the central anode, and sham HD-tDCS with the Cz as the central anode with 14 daily sessions in 3 weeks. The Social Responsiveness Scale Chinese Version (SRS-Chinese Version) was compared 1 week after stimulation with values recorded 1 week prior to stimulation. At the end of treatment, both the anodal Cz and anodal left DLFPC tDCS decreased the measures of SRS-Chinese Version. The total score of SRS-Chinese Version decreased by 13.08%, social cognition decreased by 18.33%, and social communication decreased by 10.79%, which were significantly improved over the Cz central anode active stimulation group, especially in children with young age, and middle and low function. There was no significant change in the total score and subscale score of SRS-Chinese Version over the Cz central anode sham stimulation group. In the F3 central anode active stimulation group, the total score of SRS-Chinese Version decreased by 13%, autistic behavior decreased by 19.39%, and social communication decreased by 14.39%, which were all significantly improved. However, there was no significant difference in effect between the Cz and left DLPFC stimulation conditions. HD-tDCS of the Cz central anode may be an effective treatment for social dysfunction in children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonglu Wang
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yue Kong
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Tianshu Gao
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qingyao Zhu
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Lu Han
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Bei Sun
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Luyang Guan
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ziyi Zhang
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuxin Qian
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Lingxi Xu
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Li
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hui Fang
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Gongkai Jiao
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiaoyan Ke
- Child Mental Health Research Center, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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6
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Monday HR, Wang HC, Feldman DE. Circuit-level theories for sensory dysfunction in autism: convergence across mouse models. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1254297. [PMID: 37745660 PMCID: PMC10513044 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1254297] [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: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit a diverse range of behavioral features and genetic backgrounds, but whether different genetic forms of autism involve convergent pathophysiology of brain function is unknown. Here, we analyze evidence for convergent deficits in neural circuit function across multiple transgenic mouse models of ASD. We focus on sensory areas of neocortex, where circuit differences may underlie atypical sensory processing, a central feature of autism. Many distinct circuit-level theories for ASD have been proposed, including increased excitation-inhibition (E-I) ratio and hyperexcitability, hypofunction of parvalbumin (PV) interneuron circuits, impaired homeostatic plasticity, degraded sensory coding, and others. We review these theories and assess the degree of convergence across ASD mouse models for each. Behaviorally, our analysis reveals that innate sensory detection behavior is heightened and sensory discrimination behavior is impaired across many ASD models. Neurophysiologically, PV hypofunction and increased E-I ratio are prevalent but only rarely generate hyperexcitability and excess spiking. Instead, sensory tuning and other aspects of neural coding are commonly degraded and may explain impaired discrimination behavior. Two distinct phenotypic clusters with opposing neural circuit signatures are evident across mouse models. Such clustering could suggest physiological subtypes of autism, which may facilitate the development of tailored therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah R. Monday
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | | | - Daniel E. Feldman
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
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7
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Neurobiological correlates and attenuated positive social intention attribution during laughter perception associated with degree of autistic traits. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2023; 130:585-596. [PMID: 36808307 PMCID: PMC10049931 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-023-02599-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2023]
Abstract
Laughter plays an important role in group formation, signaling social belongingness by indicating a positive or negative social intention towards the receiver. In adults without autism, the intention of laughter can be correctly differentiated without further contextual information. In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, differences in the perception and interpretation of social cues represent a key characteristic of the disorder. Studies suggest that these differences are associated with hypoactivation and altered connectivity among key nodes of the social perception network. How laughter, as a multimodal nonverbal social cue, is perceived and processed neurobiologically in association with autistic traits has not been assessed previously. We investigated differences in social intention attribution, neurobiological activation, and connectivity during audiovisual laughter perception in association with the degree of autistic traits in adults [N = 31, Mage (SD) = 30.7 (10.0) years, nfemale = 14]. An attenuated tendency to attribute positive social intention to laughter was found with increasing autistic traits. Neurobiologically, autistic trait scores were associated with decreased activation in the right inferior frontal cortex during laughter perception and with attenuated connectivity between the bilateral fusiform face area with bilateral inferior and lateral frontal, superior temporal, mid-cingulate and inferior parietal cortices. Results support hypoactivity and hypoconnectivity during social cue processing with increasing ASD symptoms between socioemotional face processing nodes and higher-order multimodal processing regions related to emotion identification and attribution of social intention. Furthermore, results reflect the importance of specifically including signals of positive social intention in future studies in ASD.
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8
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Qin Y, Tang Y, Liu X, Qiu S. Neural basis of dysphagia in stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1077234. [PMID: 36742358 PMCID: PMC9896523 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1077234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives Dysphagia is a major cause of stroke infection and death, and identification of structural and functional brain area changes associated with post-stroke dysphagia (PSD) can help in early screening and clinical intervention. Studies on PSD have reported numerous structural lesions and functional abnormalities in brain regions, and a systematic review is lacking. We aimed to integrate several neuroimaging studies to summarize the empirical evidence of neurological changes leading to PSD. Methods We conducted a systematic review of studies that used structural neuroimaging and functional neuroimaging approaches to explore structural and functional brain regions associated with swallowing after stroke, with additional evidence using a live activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. Results A total of 35 studies were included, including 20 studies with structural neuroimaging analysis, 14 studies with functional neuroimaging analysis and one study reporting results for both. The overall results suggest that structural lesions and functional abnormalities in the sensorimotor cortex, insula, cerebellum, cingulate gyrus, thalamus, basal ganglia, and associated white matter connections in individuals with stroke may contribute to dysphagia, and the ALE analysis provides additional evidence for structural lesions in the right lentiform nucleus and right thalamus and functional abnormalities in the left thalamus. Conclusion Our findings suggest that PSD is associated with neurological changes in brain regions such as sensorimotor cortex, insula, cerebellum, cingulate gyrus, thalamus, basal ganglia, and associated white matter connections. Adequate understanding of the mechanisms of neural changes in the post-stroke swallowing network may assist in clinical diagnosis and provide ideas for the development of new interventions in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Qin
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The 900th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Fuzhou, China,*Correspondence: Yin Qin,
| | - Yuting Tang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The 900th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Fuzhou, China,College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xiaoying Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The 900th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Fuzhou, China
| | - Shuting Qiu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The 900th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Fuzhou, China,College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
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9
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Klöbl M, Prillinger K, Diehm R, Doganay K, Lanzenberger R, Poustka L, Plener P, Konicar L. Individual brain regulation as learned via neurofeedback is related to affective changes in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2023; 17:6. [PMID: 36635760 PMCID: PMC9837918 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-022-00549-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emotions often play a role in neurofeedback (NF) regulation strategies. However, investigations of the relationship between the induced neuronal changes and improvements in affective domains are scarce in electroencephalography-based studies. Thus, we extended the findings of the first study on slow cortical potential (SCP) NF in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by linking affective changes to whole-brain activity during rest and regulation. METHODS Forty-one male adolescents with ASD were scanned twice at rest using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Between scans, half underwent NF training, whereas the other half received treatment as usual. Furthermore, parents reported on their child's affective characteristics at each measurement. The NF group had to alternatingly produce negative and positive SCP shifts during training and was additionally scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging while applying their developed regulation strategies. RESULTS No significant treatment group-by-time interactions in affective or resting-state measures were found. However, we found increases of resting activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and right inferior temporal gyrus as well as improvements in affective characteristics over both groups. Activation corresponding to SCP differentiation in these regions correlated with the affective improvements. A further correlation was found for Rolandic operculum activation corresponding to positive SCP shifts. There were no significant correlations with the respective achieved SCP regulation during NF training. CONCLUSION SCP NF in ASD did not lead to superior improvements in neuronal or affective functioning compared to treatment as usual. However, the affective changes might be related to the individual strategies and their corresponding activation patterns as indicated by significant correlations on the whole-brain level. Trial registration This clinical trial was registered at drks.de (DRKS00012339) on 20th April, 2017.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manfred Klöbl
- Department of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karin Prillinger
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Robert Diehm
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kamer Doganay
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Paul Plener
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Lilian Konicar
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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10
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Park J, Kawai Y, Asada M. Spike timing-dependent plasticity under imbalanced excitation and inhibition reduces the complexity of neural activity. Front Comput Neurosci 2023; 17:1169288. [PMID: 37122995 PMCID: PMC10130424 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1169288] [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: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Excitatory and inhibitory neurons are fundamental components of the brain, and healthy neural circuits are well balanced between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance). However, it is not clear how an E/I imbalance affects the self-organization of the network structure and function in general. In this study, we examined how locally altered E/I balance affects neural dynamics such as the connectivity by activity-dependent formation, the complexity (multiscale entropy) of neural activity, and information transmission. In our simulation, a spiking neural network model was used with the spike-timing dependent plasticity rule to explore the above neural dynamics. We controlled the number of inhibitory neurons and the inhibitory synaptic weights in a single neuron group out of multiple neuron groups. The results showed that a locally increased E/I ratio strengthens excitatory connections, reduces the complexity of neural activity, and decreases information transmission between neuron groups in response to an external input. Finally, we argued the relationship between our results and excessive connections and low complexity of brain activity in the neuropsychiatric brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihoon Park
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Japan
- Symbiotic Intelligent Systems Research Center, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- *Correspondence: Jihoon Park
| | - Yuji Kawai
- Symbiotic Intelligent Systems Research Center, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - Minoru Asada
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Japan
- Symbiotic Intelligent Systems Research Center, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Chubu University Academy of Emerging Sciences/Center for Mathematical Science and Artificial Intelligence, Chubu University, Kasugai, Japan
- International Professional University of Technology in Osaka, Osaka, Japan
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11
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Zhu XW, Zhang LL, Zhu ZM, Wang LY, Ding ZX, Fang XM. Altered intrinsic brain activity and connectivity in unaffected parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a resting-state fMRI study. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:997150. [PMID: 36248683 PMCID: PMC9563234 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.997150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a juvenile onset neurodevelopmental disorder with social impairment and stereotyped behavior as the main symptoms. Unaffected relatives may also exhibit similar ASD features due to genetic factors. Although previous studies have demonstrated atypical brain morphological features as well as task-state brain function abnormalities in unaffected parents with ASD children, it remains unclear the pattern of brain function in the resting state. Methods: A total of 42 unaffected parents of ASD children (pASD) and 39 age-, sex-, and handedness-matched controls were enrolled. Multiple resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) analyzing methods were applied, including amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), degree centrality (DC), and functional connectivity (FC), to reveal the functional abnormalities of unaffected parents in ASD-related brain regions. Spearman Rho correlation analysis between imaging metric values and the severity of ASD traits were evaluated as well. Results: ALFF, ReHo, and DC methods all revealed abnormal brain regions in the pASD group, such as the left medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and rectal gyrus (ROI-1), bilateral supplementary motor area (ROI-2), right caudate nucleus head and right amygdala/para-hippocampal gyrus (ROI-3). FC decreasing was observed between ROI-1 and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), ROI-2, and bilateral precuneus. FC enhancing was observed between ROI-3 and right anterior cerebellar lobe, left medial temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus, left precentral gyrus, right postcentral gyrus in pASD. In addition, ALFF values in ROI-1, DC values in ROI-3 were positively correlated with AQ scores in pASD (ρ1 = 0.298, P1 = 0.007; ρ2 = 0.220, P2 = 0.040), while FC values between ROI-1 and right ACC were negatively correlated with AQ scores (ρ3 = −0.334, P3 = 0.002). Conclusion: rsfMRI metrics could be used as biomarkers to reveal the underlying neurobiological feature of ASD for unaffected parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang-Wen Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Li-Li Zhang
- Department of Child Health Care, Wuxi Children’s Hospital, Wuxi, China
| | - Zong-Ming Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
| | - Luo-Yu Wang
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhong-Xiang Ding
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Zhong-Xiang Ding Xiang-Ming Fang
| | - Xiang-Ming Fang
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
- *Correspondence: Zhong-Xiang Ding Xiang-Ming Fang
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12
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Xu S, Li M, Yang C, Fang X, Ye M, Wu Y, Yang B, Huang W, Li P, Ma X, Fu S, Yin Y, Tian J, Gan Y, Jiang G. Abnormal Degree Centrality in Children with Low-Function Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Sleeping-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2022; 18:1363-1374. [PMID: 35818374 PMCID: PMC9270980 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s367104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This study used the graph-theory approach, degree centrality (DC) to analyze whole-brain functional networks at the voxel level in children with ASD, and investigated whether DC changes were correlated with any clinical variables in ASD children. METHODS The current study included 86 children with ASD and 54 matched healthy subjects Aged 2-5.5 years. Next, chloral hydrate induced sleeping-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (ss-fMRI) datasets were acquired from these ASD and healthy subjects. For a given voxel, the DC was calculated by calculating the number of functional connections with significantly positive correlations at the individual level. Group differences were tested using two-sample t-tests (p < 0.01, AlphaSim corrected). Finally, relationships between abnormal DCs and clinical variables were investigated via Pearson's correlation analysis. RESULTS Children with ASD exhibited low DC values in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) (p < 0.01, AlphaSim corrected). Furthermore, significantly negative correlations were established between the decreased average DC values within the right MFG in ASD children and the total ABC scores, as well as with two ABC subscales measuring highly relevant impairments in ASD (ie, stereotypes and object-use behaviors and difficulties in language). CONCLUSION Taken together, the results of our ss-fMRI study suggest that abnormal DC may represent an important contribution to elucidation of the neuropathophysiological mechanisms of preschoolers with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoujun Xu
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Chunlan Yang
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiangling Fang
- Department of Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Miaoting Ye
- Department of Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunfan Wu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Binrang Yang
- Department of Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenxian Huang
- Department of Department of Children Healthcare, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Li
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaofen Ma
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Shishun Fu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Yin
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Junzhang Tian
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yungen Gan
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Guihua Jiang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
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13
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Cao J, Chai-Zhang TC, Huang Y, Eshel MN, Kong J. Potential scalp stimulation targets for mental disorders: evidence from neuroimaging studies. J Transl Med 2021; 19:343. [PMID: 34376209 PMCID: PMC8353731 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-021-02993-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental disorders widely contribute to the modern global disease burden, creating a significant need for improvement of treatments. Scalp stimulation methods (such as scalp acupuncture and transcranial electrical stimulation) have shown promising results in relieving psychiatric symptoms. However, neuroimaging findings haven’t been well-integrated into scalp stimulation treatments. Identifying surface brain regions associated with mental disorders would expand target selection and the potential for these interventions as treatments for mental disorders. In this study, we performed large-scale meta-analyses separately on eight common mental disorders: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, compulsive disorder, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia; utilizing modern neuroimaging literature to summarize disorder-associated surface brain regions, and proposed neuroimaging-based target protocols. We found that the medial frontal gyrus, the supplementary motor area, and the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex are commonly involved in the pathophysiology of mental disorders. The target protocols we proposed may provide new brain targets for scalp stimulation in the treatment of mental disorders, and facilitate its clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Cao
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Thalia Celeste Chai-Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Yiting Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Maya Nicole Eshel
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Jian Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
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14
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Enticott PG, Barlow K, Guastella AJ, Licari MK, Rogasch NC, Middeldorp CM, Clark SR, Vallence AM, Boulton KA, Hickie IB, Whitehouse AJO, Galletly C, Alvares GA, Fujiyama H, Heussler H, Craig JM, Kirkovski M, Mills NT, Rinehart NJ, Donaldson PH, Ford TC, Caeyenberghs K, Albein-Urios N, Bekkali S, Fitzgerald PB. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in autism spectrum disorder: protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial. BMJ Open 2021; 11:e046830. [PMID: 34233985 PMCID: PMC8264904 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION There are no well-established biomedical treatments for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A small number of studies suggest that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, may improve clinical and cognitive outcomes in ASD. We describe here the protocol for a funded multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial to investigate whether a course of rTMS to the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), which has demonstrated abnormal brain activation in ASD, can improve social communication in adolescents and young adults with ASD. METHODS AND ANALYSIS This study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of a 4-week course of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS, a variant of rTMS) in ASD. Participants meeting criteria for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition ASD (n=150, aged 14-40 years) will receive 20 sessions of either active iTBS (600 pulses) or sham iTBS (in which a sham coil mimics the sensation of iTBS, but no active stimulation is delivered) to the rTPJ. Participants will undergo a range of clinical, cognitive, epi/genetic, and neurophysiological assessments before and at multiple time points up to 6 months after iTBS. Safety will be assessed via a structured questionnaire and adverse event reporting. The study will be conducted from November 2020 to October 2024. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Monash Health (Melbourne, Australia) under Australia's National Mutual Acceptance scheme. The trial will be conducted according to Good Clinical Practice, and findings will be written up for scholarly publication. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12620000890932).
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter G Enticott
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Karen Barlow
- Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Adam J Guastella
- Autism Clinic for Translational Research, Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Melissa K Licari
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Nigel C Rogasch
- Discipline of Psychiatry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology, Lifelong Health Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Christel M Middeldorp
- Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Scott R Clark
- Discipline of Psychiatry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Ann-Maree Vallence
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Innovative Therapeutics, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
- Discipline of Psychology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Kelsie A Boulton
- Autism Clinic for Translational Research, Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ian B Hickie
- Brain and Mind Centre, Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andrew J O Whitehouse
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Cherrie Galletly
- Discipline of Psychiatry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Gail A Alvares
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Hakuei Fujiyama
- Discipline of Psychology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Helen Heussler
- Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jeffrey M Craig
- IMPACT - the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Melissa Kirkovski
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Natalie T Mills
- Discipline of Psychiatry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Nicole J Rinehart
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Krongold Clinic, Monash Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Peter H Donaldson
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Talitha C Ford
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Heath, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | | | - Soukayna Bekkali
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Paul B Fitzgerald
- Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Epworth Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, Epworth HealthCare, Camperwell, Victoria, Australia
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15
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Fombonne E, Green Snyder L, Daniels A, Feliciano P, Chung W. Psychiatric and Medical Profiles of Autistic Adults in the SPARK Cohort. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 50:3679-3698. [PMID: 32096123 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04414-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
This study examined lifetime medical and psychiatric morbidity reported by caregivers of 2917 autistic adults participating in the US research cohort SPARK. Participants were 78.4% male, 47.3% had intellectual disability, and 32.1% had persistent language impairments. Childhood language disorders (59.7%), speech/articulation problems (32.8%), sleep (39.4%) and eating problems (29.4%), motor delays (22.8%) and history of seizure (15.5%) were the most frequently reported clinical features. Over two thirds (67.2%) had been diagnosed with at least one psychiatric disorder (anxiety disorders: 41.1%; ADHD: 38.7%). Compared to verbally fluent participants, those with language impairments had lower frequencies of almost all psychiatric disorders. Female sex and older age were associated with higher medical and psychiatric morbidity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Fombonne
- Departments of Psychiatry, Pediatrics & Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR, 97239, USA.
| | | | | | | | - Wendy Chung
- The Simons Foundation, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
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Leming M, Górriz JM, Suckling J. Ensemble Deep Learning on Large, Mixed-Site fMRI Datasets in Autism and Other Tasks. Int J Neural Syst 2020; 30:2050012. [DOI: 10.1142/s0129065720500124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Deep learning models for MRI classification face two recurring problems: they are typically limited by low sample size, and are abstracted by their own complexity (the “black box problem”). In this paper, we train a convolutional neural network (CNN) with the largest multi-source, functional MRI (fMRI) connectomic dataset ever compiled, consisting of 43,858 datapoints. We apply this model to a cross-sectional comparison of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) versus typically developing (TD) controls that has proved difficult to characterize with inferential statistics. To contextualize these findings, we additionally perform classifications of gender and task versus rest. Employing class-balancing to build a training set, we trained [Formula: see text] modified CNNs in an ensemble model to classify fMRI connectivity matrices with overall AUROCs of 0.6774, 0.7680, and 0.9222 for ASD versus TD, gender, and task versus rest, respectively. Additionally, we aim to address the black box problem in this context using two visualization methods. First, class activation maps show which functional connections of the brain our models focus on when performing classification. Second, by analyzing maximal activations of the hidden layers, we were also able to explore how the model organizes a large and mixed-center dataset, finding that it dedicates specific areas of its hidden layers to processing different covariates of data (depending on the independent variable analyzed), and other areas to mix data from different sources. Our study finds that deep learning models that distinguish ASD from TD controls focus broadly on temporal and cerebellar connections, with a particularly high focus on the right caudate nucleus and paracentral sulcus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Leming
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Herchel Smith Building for Brain & Mind Sciences, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB20SZ, UK
| | - Juan Manuel Górriz
- Department of Signal Theory, Networking and Communications, University of Granada, Avenida del Hospicio, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | - John Suckling
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Herchel Smith Building for Brain & Mind Sciences, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB20SZ, UK
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Takeda Y, Itahashi T, Sato MA, Yamashita O. Estimating repetitive spatiotemporal patterns from many subjects' resting-state fMRIs. Neuroimage 2019; 203:116182. [PMID: 31525496 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, we proposed a method to estimate repetitive spatiotemporal patterns from resting-state brain activity data (SpatioTemporal Pattern estimation, STeP) (Takeda et al., 2016). From such resting-state data as functional MRI (fMRI), STeP can estimate several spatiotemporal patterns and their onsets even if they are overlapping. Nowadays, a growing number of resting-state data are publicly available from such databases as the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), which promote a better understanding of resting-state brain activities. In this study, we extend STeP to make it applicable to such big databases, thus proposing the method we call BigSTeP. From many subjects' resting-state data, BigSTeP estimates spatiotemporal patterns that are common across subjects (common spatiotemporal patterns) as well as the corresponding spatiotemporal patterns in each subject (subject-specific spatiotemporal patterns). After verifying the performance of BigSTeP by simulation tests, we applied it to over 1,000 subjects' resting-state fMRIs (rsfMRIs) obtained from ABIDE I. This revealed two common spatiotemporal patterns and the corresponding subject-specific spatiotemporal patterns. The common spatiotemporal patterns included spatial patterns resembling the default mode (DMN), sensorimotor, auditory, and visual networks, suggesting that these networks are time-locked with each other. We compared the subject-specific spatiotemporal patterns between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developed (TD) groups. As a result, significant differences were concentrated at a specific time in a pattern, when the DMN exhibited large positive activity. This suggests that the differences are context-dependent, that is, the differences in fMRI activities between ASDs and TDs do not always occur during the resting state but tend to occur when the DMN exhibits large positive activity. All of these results demonstrate the usefulness of BigSTeP in extracting inspiring hypotheses from big databases in a data-driven way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Takeda
- Computational Brain Dynamics Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan; Department of Computational Brain Imaging, ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan.
| | - Takashi Itahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8577, Japan
| | - Masa-Aki Sato
- Department of Computational Brain Imaging, ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan
| | - Okito Yamashita
- Computational Brain Dynamics Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan; Department of Computational Brain Imaging, ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan
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Spera G, Retico A, Bosco P, Ferrari E, Palumbo L, Oliva P, Muratori F, Calderoni S. Evaluation of Altered Functional Connections in Male Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders on Multiple-Site Data Optimized With Machine Learning. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:620. [PMID: 31616322 PMCID: PMC6763745 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00620] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
No univocal and reliable brain-based biomarkers have been detected to date in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Neuroimaging studies have consistently revealed alterations in brain structure and function of individuals with ASD; however, it remains difficult to ascertain the extent and localization of affected brain networks. In this context, the application of Machine Learning (ML) classification methods to neuroimaging data has the potential to contribute to a better distinction between subjects with ASD and typical development controls (TD). This study is focused on the analysis of resting-state fMRI data of individuals with ASD and matched TD, available within the ABIDE collection. To reduce the multiple sources of heterogeneity that impact on understanding the neural underpinnings of autistic condition, we selected a subgroup of 190 subjects (102 with ASD and 88 TD) according to the following criteria: male children (age range: 6.5-13 years); rs-fMRI data acquired with open eyes; data from the University sites that provided the largest number of scans (KKI, NYU, UCLA, UM). Connectivity values were evaluated as the linear correlation between pairs of time series of brain areas; then, a Linear kernel Support Vector Machine (L-SVM) classification, with an inter-site cross-validation scheme, was carried out. A permutation test was conducted to identify over-connectivity and under-connectivity alterations in the ASD group. The mean L-SVM classification performance, in terms of the area under the ROC curve (AUC), was 0.75 ± 0.05. The highest performance was obtained using data from KKI, NYU and UCLA sites in training and data from UM as testing set (AUC = 0.83). Specifically, stronger functional connectivity (FC) in ASD with respect to TD involve (p < 0.001) the angular gyrus with the precuneus in the right (R) hemisphere, and the R frontal operculum cortex with the pars opercularis of the left (L) inferior frontal gyrus. Weaker connections in ASD group with respect to TD are the intra-hemispheric R temporal fusiform cortex with the R hippocampus, and the L supramarginal gyrus with L planum polare. The results indicate that both under- and over-FC occurred in a selected cohort of ASD children relative to TD controls, and that these functional alterations are spread in different brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanna Spera
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Pisa Division, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alessandra Retico
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Pisa Division, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Elisa Ferrari
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Pisa Division, Pisa, Italy.,Scuola Normale Superiore, Faculty of Sciences, Pisa, Italy
| | - Letizia Palumbo
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Pisa Division, Pisa, Italy
| | - Piernicola Oliva
- Department of Chemistry, and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy.,National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Cagliari Division, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Filippo Muratori
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Pisa, Italy.,Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Sara Calderoni
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Pisa, Italy.,Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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