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Default mode-visual network hypoconnectivity in an autism subtype with pronounced social visual engagement
Michael V Lombardo1,2, Lisa Eyler3,4, Adrienne Moore5
1Laboratory for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @UniTn, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy.
Elife
|December 18, 2019
Summary
Difficulties with social visual engagement in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are linked to reduced brain connectivity. Specific patterns in toddlers with ASD may predict future social challenges and inform early interventions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Background:
- Social visual engagement deficits are key early indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- The neurobiological underpinnings connecting these social difficulties to early brain organization in ASD remain unclear.
- Eye tracking offers a quantifiable method to assess social visual engagement patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between early social visual engagement difficulties and functional brain connectivity in toddlers with ASD.
- To identify specific neural circuit alterations associated with a subtype of ASD exhibiting pronounced social visual engagement challenges.
- To explore the neurobiological basis of social-communication difficulties in ASD.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed on a large sample of toddlers diagnosed with ASD and comparison groups.
- Eye tracking was used to identify a subtype of ASD (GeoPref ASD) with significant early social visual engagement difficulties.
- Functional connectivity analyses were performed to examine relationships between brain networks, including the default mode network (DMN), visual, and attention networks.
Main Results:
- ASD was associated with functional hypoconnectivity between the default mode network (DMN) and visual/attention networks.
- The GeoPref ASD subtype showed marked hypoconnectivity between the DMN and occipito-temporal cortex (OTC).
- Increased DMN-OTC hypoconnectivity correlated with greater social-communication difficulties, specifically within the GeoPref ASD group.
Conclusions:
- Early and significant social-visual circuit hypoconnectivity is a core neurobiological feature of the GeoPref ASD subtype.
- This hypoconnectivity may significantly impact future social-communicative development in individuals with ASD.
- Identifying these neural patterns offers potential targets for early intervention strategies in ASD.
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