Abnormal cerebral effective connectivity during explicit emotional processing in adults with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Several recent studies suggest that autism may result from abnormal communication between brain regions. We directly assessed this hypothesis by testing the presence of abnormalities in a model of the functional cerebral network engaged during explicit emotion processing in adults with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. Comparison of structural equation models revealed abnormal patterns of effective connectivity, with the prefrontal cortex as a key site of dysfunction. These findings provide evidence that abnormal long-range connectivity between structures of the 'social brain' could explain the socio-emotional troubles that characterize the autistic pathology.

Wavelet coherence-based classifier: A resting-state functional MRI study on neurodynamics in adolescents with high-functioning autism

“…Indeed, Nomi and Uddin demonstrated that, unlike children, within-network functional connectivity in adolescents with ASD do not differ from controls, but the between-network connectivity decreases in ASD [31] . This is in line with our current results of between-network synchronicity being weaker in ASD, and our previous findings where we did not find within-network differences [32] However, more than their topology, temporal dynamics of functional network is a key feature in ASD [10][11][12][13] . In our study, we focused on temporal brain dynamics between RSNs, using wavelet coherence maps.…”

“…There is evidence that not the topology of networks, but their temporal dynamics is a key feature in ASD [10][11][12][13] . Our approach aims at assessing the temporal dynamics processes in the brain, which we call neurodynamics-quantifying, in our study, interactions between functional networks over time.…”

“…the causal influence of one brain area on another. Nevertheless these studies were performed between regions of interest during explicit emotionrelated tasks and show atypical effective connectivity patterns in social brain networks [12,13] . We could not find any study dealing with effective connectivity, or other dynamics measurements, between or within large-scale functional networks at rest.…”

Brain stimulation used as biofeedback in neuronal activation of the temporal lobe area in autistic children

“…For some researchers, it may be a consequence of the poor neural connectivity in ASD, particularly to and within prefrontal and parietal regions 3 . Thus, it is generally accepted that individuals with some form of ASD display at least some impairment in recognizing emotions through facial expressions 4 , although there are a host of inconsistent results 5 .…”

A CAD system for early diagnosis of autism using different imaging modalities.

“…fMRI basic social processing tasks include face processing [251][252][253][254], emotion processing [255][256][257][258][259][260][261], and motion in relation to social stimuli [262][263][264][265][266]. Studies in the literature show that greater activation in the bilateral superior temporal gyri is exhibited in autism, whereas neurotypicals exhibit greater activation in the left fusiform gyrus and in the right inferior occipital gyrus.…”