Heritability of abnormalities in limbic networks of autism spectrum disorder children: Evidence from an autism spectrum disorder twin study

Abstract

Although the limbic system is closely related to emotion and social behaviors, little is known about the integrity of limbic pathways and how genetics influence the anatomical abnormalities of limbic networks in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Therefore, we used an ASD twin study design to evaluate the microstructural integrity and autism-related differences in limbic pathways of young children with ASD and to estimate the heritability of limbic tracts microstructure variance. We obtained diffusion tensor imaging scans from 33 pairs of twins with ASD aged 2-9 years and 20 age-matched typically developing children. The ACE model was used to estimate the relative effects of additive genetic factors (A), shared environmental factors (C) and specific environmental factors (E) on the variability of diffusivity measurements. We found a significant decrease in fractional anisotropy (FA) in the bilateral fornix and uncinate fasciculus (UF), as well as increased mean diffusivity (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD) in the bilateral fornix and right UF of ASD children. Correlation analysis showed that FA, MD, and lateralization indices of UF were correlated with autism diagnostic observation schedule scores. The ACE model revealed that genetic effects may drive some of the variability of microstructure in the bilateral fornix, cingulum, and left UF. In conclusion, in children with ASD, there are abnormalities in the white matter microstructure of the limbic system, which is related to the core symptoms; these abnormalities may be related to the relative contribution of genetic and environmental effects on specific tracts. Lay SummaryAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) children have abnormal white matter structure in limbic system related to ASD symptoms, and genetic factors play an important role in the development of limbic tracts.

Brain functional gradient and structure features in adolescent and adult autism spectrum disorders

“…Research has confirmed that limbic regions such as the amygdala and hippocampus are functionally related to impaired abilities in ASD, which are correlated with repetitive and stereotyped behavior (Fu et al, 2022 ; Nees et al, 2022 ; Thabault et al, 2022 ). Our results showed that the limbic gray value in the ASD group was lower than that in the adult HC group.…”

Application of Multimodal MRI in the Early Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review

“…A higher FA in the corpus callosum is associated with impaired social and communicative functions, and that in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus is associated with difficulty in recognizing emotions and facial expressions [11,59]. During the childhood phase in ASD individuals, there is a decline in FA, primarily observed in the sagittal stratum, corpus callosum, superior cerebellar peduncle, superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum, and uncinate fasciculus, which are associated with motor functions, language, and social impairments [57,58,[60][61][62][63][64][65]. However, Weinstein et al [66] found increased FA values in the corpus callosum and superior longitudinal fasciculus in children with ASD aged 1.5-6 years old.…”

Effects of Sensory Integration to Manage Behavior Problems of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…When the child gets involve in more of the sensory stimulus during play the connectivity between neuron not only increases but get richer in information and its processing. Thus sensory processing is one of the major requirements to intricate learning, creativity and imagining among children 10 . Sensory integration by the Ayres signifies to the capability to produce suitable motor and behavioral responses to stimuli.…”