Brain dynamics in ASD during movie‐watching show idiosyncratic functional integration and segregation

Abstract

To refine our understanding of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), studies of the brain in dynamic, multimodal and ecological experimental settings are required. One way to achieve this is to compare the neural responses of ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals when viewing a naturalistic movie, but the temporal complexity of the stimulus hampers this task, and the presence of intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) may overshadow movie‐driven fluctuations. Here, we detected inter‐subject functional correlation (ISFC) transients to disentangle movie‐induced functional changes from underlying resting‐state activity while probing FC dynamically. When considering the number of significant ISFC excursions triggered by the movie across the brain, connections between remote functional modules were more heterogeneously engaged in the ASD population. Dynamically tracking the temporal profiles of those ISFC changes and tying them to specific movie subparts, this idiosyncrasy in ASD responses was then shown to involve functional integration and segregation mechanisms such as response inhibition, background suppression, or multisensory integration, while low‐level visual processing was spared. Through the application of a new framework for the study of dynamic experimental paradigms, our results reveal a temporally localized idiosyncrasy in ASD responses, specific to short‐lived episodes of long‐range functional interplays.

Toward Neurosubtypes in Autism

“…Additionally, mostly due to compliance requirements for neuroimaging data collection, the field has largely failed to include less cognitively capable individuals, thus limiting the generalizability of findings. Future studies must invest in protocols that allow data collection across all abilities, including natural sleep scans (112,113), passive viewing (114,115), scan behavioral preparation (116), as well as technical advancements addressing head motion prospectively (117,118). Another challenge germane to ASD is the disproportional representation of males (119).…”

Examining the relationship between social cognition and neural synchrony during movies in children with and without autism

“…Several studies have investigated social processing differences between those with and without ASD by examining brain activity in response to watching movies (Bolton et al, 2018;Byrge et al, 2015;Hasson et al, 2009;Salmi et al, 2013). Movie watching mimics real-world experiences by requiring the viewer to integrate perceptual and cognitive systems in order to follow the complexities of the plot.…”

Processing of Real‐World, Dynamic Natural Stimuli in Autism is Linked to Corticobasal Function

“…Some studies have investigated multisensory processing in ASD using real‐world, dynamic stimuli: For instance, studies using dynamic stimuli have varied in the duration of stimuli presentation and task demands, including short video clips of a few seconds followed immediately by a forced‐alternative choice task selection [Stevenson et al, ], live images followed by a forced‐alternative choice task [Greenfield et al, ], or passive movie watching with no task [Gabrielsen et al, ; Russo et al, ]. Only two studies [Bolton et al, ; Byrge et al, ] have used the same video for all participants that was a continuous, dynamic video of a real‐world scene that also included auditory information; however, the movies required relatively higher‐order processing of faces and verbal information. Thus, many gaps remain with regard to the nature and degree of stimulus complexity and/or task complexity that may potentially unmask more specific processing differences.…”