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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
Functional Brain Networks in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Bin Qin1,2, Longlun Wang1, Jinhua Cai1
1Department of Radiology, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Medical Research in Cognitive Development and Learning and Memory Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Insights
Preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show altered functional brain networks. Resting-state fMRI reveals distinct connectivity patterns, aiding early ASD assessment and understanding its pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting social interaction and communication.
- Understanding the neural underpinnings of ASD in early childhood is crucial for timely intervention.
- Functional brain network alterations are increasingly recognized as potential biomarkers for ASD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate functional brain network characteristics in preschool children with ASD using rs-fMRI.
- To analyze functional connectivity (FC) patterns and graph theory metrics in the ASD group compared to healthy controls (HC).
- To provide imaging evidence for the early assessment and understanding of ASD pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study involving 32 preschool children with ASD and 22 healthy controls.
- Acquisition of resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data from all participants.
- Calculation of functional connectivity (FC) and application of graph theory analysis to compare network properties between groups.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in subnetwork connectivity were observed between ASD and HC groups.
- ASD group showed enhanced FC in default mode network (DMN) subnetworks (e.g., medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus).
- Weakened FC was noted in ASD, particularly involving the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and amygdala. Increased clustering coefficient and local efficiency were found in the ASD group's functional network.
Conclusions:
- Preschool children with ASD exhibit distinct alterations in functional brain networks.
- These network changes, detectable via rs-fMRI, are significant for understanding ASD pathogenesis.
- Sleep rs-fMRI offers a valuable tool for the early detection and assessment of ASD.
Objective:
The present study aims to investigate the functional brain network characteristics of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through functional connectivity (FC) calculations using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and graph theory analysis to better understand the pathogenesis of ASD and provide imaging evidence for the early assessment of this condition.
Methods:
A prospective study of preschool children including 32 with ASD (ASD group) and 22 healthy controls (HC)group was conducted in which all subjects underwent rs-fMRI scans, and then the differences in FC between the two groups was calculated, followed by graph-theoretic analysis to obtain the FC properties of the network.
Results:
In the calculation of FC, compared with the children in the HC group, significant increases or decreases in subnetwork connectivity was found in the ASD group. There were 25 groups of subnetworks with enhanced FC, of which the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate gyrus and angular gyrus were all important components of the default mode network (DMN). There were 11 groups of subnetworks with weakened FC, including the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, precuneus, amygdala, and perirhinal cortex, with the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus predominating. In the network properties determined by graph theory, the clustering coefficient and local efficiency of the functional network was increased in the ASD group; specifically, compared with those in the HC group, nodes in the left subinsular frontal gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus had increased efficiency, and nodes in the left perisylvian cortex, the left lingual gyrus, and the right hippocampus had decreased efficiency.
Conclusion:
Alterations in functional brain networks are evident in preschool children with ASD and can be detected with sleep rs-fMRI, which is important for understanding the pathogenesis of ASD and assessing this condition early.
