Age group differences in executive network functional connectivity and relationships with social behavior in men with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Background: Research suggests adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may use executive functions to compensate for social difficulties. Given hallmark age-related declines in executive functioning and the executive brain network in normal aging, there is concern that older adults with ASD may experience further declines in social functioning as they age. In a male-only sample, we hypothesized: 1) older adults with ASD would demonstrate greater ASD-related social behavior than young adults with ASD, 2) adults with ASD would demonstrate a greater age group reduction in connectivity of the executive brain network than neurotypical (NT) adults, and 3) that behavioral and neural mechanisms of executive functioning would predict ASD-related social difficulties in adults with ASD.Methods: Participants were a cross-sectional sample of non-intellectually disabled young (ages 18-25) and middle-aged (ages 40-70) adult men with ASD and NT development (young adult ASD: n=24; middle-age ASD: n=25; young adult NT: n=15; middle-age NT: n=21). We assessed ASD-related social behavior via the self-report Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) Total Score, with exploratory analyses of the Social Cognition Subscale. We assessed neural executive function via connectivity of the resting-state executive network (EN) as measured by independent component analysis. Correlations were investigated between SRS-2 Total Scores (with exploratory analyses of the Social Cognition Subscale), EN functional connectivity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and a behavioral measure of executive function, Tower of London (ToL) Total Moves. Results:We did not confirm a significant age group difference for adults with ASD on the SRS-2 Total Score; however, exploratory analysis revealed middle-age men with ASD had higher scores

Executive Functioning in 60+ Autistic Males: The Discrepancy Between Experienced Challenges and Cognitive Performance

“…Thus, in older autistic men with a late adulthood ASC diagnosis and (above) average IQ, EF problems in daily life are clearly reported on, while this is not reflected in their cognitive test performance and is not differentially impacted by their age. The consistency of findings across the current study and the Davids et al (2016) study, is in sharp contrast with the lack of consistency across the broader range of studies including older autistic adults (Braden et al 2017;Geurts and Vissers 2012;Lever and Geurts 2016a, b;Powell et al 2017;Tse et al 2019;Walsh et al 2019). This inconsistency in findings could be due to differences in sample characteristics (age, sex, IQ level), type of cognitive tasks included, chosen statistical analyses, and how intelligence levels were accounted for.…”

“…This inconsistency in findings could be due to differences in sample characteristics (age, sex, IQ level), type of cognitive tasks included, chosen statistical analyses, and how intelligence levels were accounted for. Alternatively, it might also be the results of the fact that the majority of the studies (Braden et al 2017;Geurts and Vissers 2012;Powell et al 2017;Tse et al 2019;Walsh et al 2019) are relatively small and likely underpowered for the type of analyses run. While the current study is slightly larger, it could be argued it is still rather small.…”

“…To our knowledge only seven papers reported on objective clinical EF measures of a (clinically) diagnosed ASC adult sample of which approximately 50% of the participants was over 45 years of age (Braden et al 2017;Davids et al 2016;Geurts and Vissers 2012;Lever and Geurts 2016a;Powell et al 2017;Tse et al 2019;Walsh et al 2019). The findings, however, are inconsistent.…”

“…There were, however, also some differences in the cognitive measures used which might account for the discrepancy in findings. In two other small studies [Braden et al 2017; N ASC = 14 to 16, N non-ASC = 17, age 40-64 years; Walsh et al 2019; N ASC = 24 to 25, N non-ASC = 15 to 21, age 18 to 70 years (note, they included specific subgroups aged 40-70 with mean age over 45 years)] with slightly younger participants, EF differences emerged on a cognitive flexibility task similar to the one used in Geurts and Vissers (2012) study, 1 but not on a planning task which was similar to the one used in the Davids et al (2016) study. So even when similar tasks were used, the findings in across the different small studies are still inconsistent.…”

Age-variant and age-invariant features of functional brain organization in middle-aged and older autistic adults

“…In addition to the DMN-related differences, our results indicated an age-related increase in the participation coefficient of the frontoparietal control network in the ASC and CMP group. This finding is in line with the general age-related decrease in network segregation across functional networks [70] and specific age-related associations for the FPCN [71,72]. The FPCN may play a central role in brain aging due to its role in controlling other functional networks [73], particularly the DMN [74].…”