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Anomalous Pattern of Left Hemisphere Visual Connectivity in Children With Autism: Association With Impaired Praxis
Jonah McLaughlin1, Deana Crocetti1, Stewart H Mostofsky1,2,3
1Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Summary
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit altered brain connectivity. This impacts visual-motor integration, affecting the learning of skills through imitation and potentially contributing to motor difficulties in autism.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with visual-motor integration (VMI) differences, potentially hindering motor and social skill acquisition via observation.
- Children with ASD demonstrate motor task deficits and atypical connectivity between higher-order visual (HOV) and sensory-motor cortices.
- Research in congenital blindness shows altered HOV connectivity patterns, including reduced connections to sensory-motor areas and increased prefrontal cortex (PFC) connectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate higher-order visual (HOV) functional connectivity (FC) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using fMRI.
- To test the hypothesis of decreased HOV-SM1 and increased HOV-PFC connectivity in ASD compared to typically developing (TD) children.
- To explore the correlation between altered HOV connectivity patterns and praxis difficulties in children with ASD.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to assess HOV functional connectivity (FC).
- Participants included children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children.
- Statistical analyses examined differences in HOV connectivity and correlations with praxis performance.
Main Results:
- Children with ASD exhibited an altered HOV connectivity pattern characterized by reduced connectivity with sensory-motor cortex (SM1).
- Increased HOV connectivity with the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was observed in children with ASD.
- The identified HOV connectivity pattern in ASD correlated with impaired praxis, indicating difficulties in performing skilled actions.
Conclusions:
- Children with ASD display a distinct pattern of HOV functional connectivity, differing from TD children.
- Altered HOV connectivity, specifically reduced SM1 and increased PFC connections, may underlie difficulties in acquiring visually learned skills in ASD.
- These findings suggest a neural basis for motor and imitation challenges observed in autism spectrum disorder.
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