Abstract
BackgroundRecent brain imaging findings suggest that there are widely distributed abnormalities affecting the brain connectivity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using graph theoretical analysis, it is possible to investigate both global and local properties of brain’s wiring diagram, i.e., the connectome.MethodsWe acquired diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data from 14 adult males with high-functioning ASD and 19 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched controls. As with diffusion tensor imaging-based tractography, it is not possible to detect complex (e.g., crossing) fiber configurations, present in 60–90 % of white matter voxels; we performed constrained spherical deconvolution-based whole brain tractography. Unweighted and weighted structural brain networks were then reconstructed from these tractography data and analyzed with graph theoretical measures.ResultsIn subjects with ASD, global efficiency was significantly decreased both in the unweighted and the weighted networks, normalized characteristic path length was significantly increased in the unweighted networks, and strength was significantly decreased in the weighted networks. In the local analyses, betweenness centrality of the right caudate was significantly increased in the weighted networks, and the strength of the right superior temporal pole was significantly decreased in the unweighted networks in subjects with ASD.ConclusionsOur findings provide new insights into understanding ASD by showing that the integration of structural brain networks is decreased and that there are abnormalities in the connectivity of the right caudate and right superior temporal pole in subjects with ASD.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0058-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Recent brain imaging findings suggest that there are widely distributed abnormalities affecting the brain connectivity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has enabled the investigation of in vivo structural brain connectivity, which has led to a significant amount of evidence concerning abnormalities in structural connectivity, reviewed in [6]
Global efficiency was significantly decreased in subjects with ASD, and in the binary network, the normalized characteristic path length was increased in subjects with ASD
Summary
Recent brain imaging findings suggest that there are widely distributed abnormalities affecting the brain connectivity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe impairments in social interaction and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities [1]. It affects almost one percent of the population [2], and the heritability has been estimated to be as high as 90 % [3]. Recent brain imaging findings suggest that there are widely distributed abnormalities affecting the brain connectivity in individuals with ASD [1, 4,5,6]. Only a few studies take advantage of the graph theoretical approach to analyze the connectome reconstructed with whole brain tractography in ASD [7,8,9,10,11]
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