Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 11, 2025
Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
Disrupted functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens and posterior cingulate cortex in autism spectrum
MaryScott Polk1, Toshikazu Ikuta2
1School of Law, University of Mississippi.
Objectives:
Dysfunctions in the basal ganglia have been repeatedly found in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is known for its central role in social functions and also in its abnormality in ASD. In this study, whole-brain functional connectivity of the NAcc was examined to isolate brain regions that are differently connected to the NAcc in autism, using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data.
Methods:
In the initial dataset, 68 individuals with ASD (13.13 ± 2.41 years old) and 77 typically developing individuals (14.79 ± 3.57 years old) were compared.
Results:
The precuneus cortex, lingual gyrus, thalamus, dorsal striatum, anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex showed weaker connectivity to the NAcc in the group with ASD. Among these regions, dysconnectivity of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was replicated in the replication dataset, with 78 individuals with ASD and 105 without ASD.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that the dysconnectivity between the NAcc and PCC may account for social dysfunctions in ASD.
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