Early identification of autism spectrum disorder in preschoolers by static and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations features
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Published on: July 31, 2017
Kanghui Yu1,2, Shoujun Xu3, Shishun Fu4
1The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Insights
Early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschoolers is possible using brain function metrics. Static and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in specific brain regions show potential for ASD detection.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Early identification and intervention are crucial for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- Understanding neural underpinnings of ASD in preschoolers can facilitate early diagnosis.
- Intrinsic brain function, both static and dynamic, offers potential biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore disparities in static and dynamic intrinsic brain function in preschoolers with ASD.
- To uncover neural underpinnings for facilitating ASD identification.
- To evaluate the diagnostic capability of brain function metrics.
Main Methods:
- Compared static and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in 73 ASD preschoolers and 43 typically developing individuals (TDs).
- Utilized a sliding window technique for dynamic ALFF (dALFF) to assess local brain activity variance.
- Employed Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis to evaluate diagnostic potential.
Main Results:
- ASD preschoolers showed lower sALFF in the left middle temporal gyrus, medial orbitofrontal cortex, and precuneus.
- Reduced dALFF values were observed in the left inferior orbitofrontal cortex and middle temporal gyrus of ASD preschoolers.
- sALFF and dALFF metrics, individually and combined, demonstrated significant diagnostic capability (AUCs 0.848, 0.744, 0.866).
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest regional left brain dysfunction is associated with ASD in preschoolers.
- sALFF and dALFF values, especially in the middle temporal gyrus, may serve as early indicators for ASD detection.
- These brain function metrics hold promise for improving early ASD diagnosis.
Objectives:
Early identification and timely intervention is critical for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study aims to explore potential disparities in static and dynamic intrinsic brain function in preschoolers with ASD, and uncover underlying neural underpinnings that can be used for facilitating the identification of ASD.
Materials And Methods:
Static and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of 73 ASD preschoolers and 43 age-matched typically developing individuals (TDs) were extracted and compared to identify differences in intrinsic brain local connectivity associated with ASD. The dynamic ALFF (dALFF) utilized a sliding window technique that integrates static ALFF (sALFF) to gauge the variance of local brain activity over time. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the potential diagnostic capability of the sALFF and dALFF metrics in identifying ASD.
Results:
Compared with TDs, ASD preschoolers exhibited lower levels of sALFF in the left middle temporal gyrus, medial orbitofrontal cortex, precuneus and reduced dALFF values in the left inferior orbitofrontal cortex, middle temporal gyrus. ROC analysis indicated that sALFF and dALFF could distinguish preschoolers with ASD from TDs with the areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.848 and 0.744 (p < 0.001), and their combination showed an increased accuracy with the AUC of 0.866 (p < 0.001). Nevertheless, there were no linear correlation between the ALFF values in children with ASD and clinical scales.
Conclusion:
The findings suggest an association of regional left brain dysfunction with ASD in preschoolers. The values of sALFF and dALFF, particularly in the middle temporal gyrus, could act as possible indicators for the early detection of ASD.
