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Eye Tracking Young Children with Autism
Published on: March 27, 2012
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Early childhood network alterations in severe autism
Sowmyashree Mayur Kaku1, Aditya Jayashankar2, Satish Chandra Girimaji1
1Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
|January 6, 2019
Summary
Children with severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show altered brain connectivity, particularly in the Heschl's gyrus, which correlates with symptom severity. These findings suggest early neural differences in severe ASD cases.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social, communication, and behavioral challenges.
- Understanding the neural underpinnings of ASD, especially early in development, is crucial for targeted interventions.
- Brain connectivity and network topology are increasingly recognized as important factors in ASD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in whole brain topology and connectivity between children with mild and severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- To explore the relationship between brain network alterations and ASD symptom severity in young children.
- To identify specific brain regions exhibiting altered connectivity in relation to ASD severity.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted on 17 children (ages 3-8) with ASD.
- Patients were categorized into mild and severe ASD groups based on Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores.
- Graph theoretical analysis was applied to resting-state fMRI data to assess whole brain network topology and connectivity.
Main Results:
- Children with severe ASD exhibited significantly higher clustering coefficient and small-worldness compared to those with mild ASD.
- Analysis identified altered clustering in the Heschl's gyrus, a region associated with auditory processing and language.
- The degree of clustering in Heschl's gyrus significantly correlated with CARS scores, indicating a link to ASD symptom severity.
Conclusions:
- The study provides evidence of aberrant brain connectivity in severe ASD during early development, predating environmental influences.
- Altered connectivity in the Heschl's gyrus is associated with ASD severity and aligns with existing literature on cortical changes in ASD.
- These findings suggest early disruptions in language processing regions may contribute to the heterogeneity of ASD symptoms.
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