Alteration of Effective Connectivity in the Default Mode Network of Autism After an Intervention

Abstract

Neuroimaging has revealed numerous atypical functional connectivity of default mode network (DMN) dedicated to social communications (SC) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet their nature and directionality remain unclear. Here, preschoolers with autism received physical intervention from a 12-week mini-basketball training program (12W-MBTP). Therefore, the directionality and nature of regional interactions within the DMN after the intervention are evaluated while assessing the impact of an intervention on SC. Based on the results of independent component analysis (ICA), we applied spectral dynamic causal modeling (DCM) for participants aged 3–6 years (experimental group, N = 17, control group, N = 14) to characterize the longitudinal changes following intervention in intrinsic and extrinsic effective connectivity (EC) between core regions of the DMN. Then, we analyzed the correlation between the changes in EC and SRS-2 scores to establish symptom-based validation. We found that after the 12W-MBTP intervention, the SRS-2 score of preschoolers with ASD in the experimental group was decreased. Concurrently, the inhibitory directional connections were observed between the core regions of the DMN, including increased self-inhibition in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and the changes of EC in mPFC were significantly correlated with change in the social responsiveness scale-2 (SRS-2) score. These new findings shed light on DMN as a potential intervention target, as the inhibitory information transmission between its core regions may play a positive role in improving SC behavior in preschoolers with ASD, which may be a reliable neuroimaging biomarker for future studies.Clinical Trial Registration: This study registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900024973) on August 05, 2019.

Sex differences of the triple network model in children with autism: A resting‐state fMRI investigation of effective connectivity

“…For example, Hogeveen et al examined cross-network connectivity between these three networks and suggested that the SN-DMN connection is associated with greater internalization in ASD (Hogeveen et al, 2018). Yu et al found that changes of EC in the DMN were significantly associated with the social responsiveness scores in ASD (Yu et al, 2021). Olson et al showed that relationships between FC and autism symptoms in ASD vary by sex (Olson et al, 2020).…”

The importance of comprehensive support based on the three pillars of exercise, nutrition, and sleep for improving core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders

“…In addition, metabolic modulation may progressively lead to structural and functional changes in the cranial nervous system. In this regard, a Chinese research team has used brain imaging techniques to find changes in white matter fiber connectivity with exercise intervention ( 16 ) and changes in functional brain connectivity such as the default mode network (DNM) and executive control network (ECN) during resting state ( 17 , 18 ).…”