Abstract
Over 90% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) demonstrate atypical sensory behaviors. In fact, hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment is now included in the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. However, there are children with sensory processing differences who do not meet an ASD diagnosis but do show atypical sensory behaviors to the same or greater degree as ASD children. We previously demonstrated that children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) have impaired white matter microstructure, and that this white matter microstructural pathology correlates with atypical sensory behavior. In this study, we use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fiber tractography to evaluate the structural connectivity of specific white matter tracts in boys with ASD (n = 15) and boys with SPD (n = 16), relative to typically developing children (n = 23). We define white matter tracts using probabilistic streamline tractography and assess the strength of tract connectivity using mean fractional anisotropy. Both the SPD and ASD cohorts demonstrate decreased connectivity relative to controls in parieto-occipital tracts involved in sensory perception and multisensory integration. However, the ASD group alone shows impaired connectivity, relative to controls, in temporal tracts thought to subserve social-emotional processing. In addition to these group difference analyses, we take a dimensional approach to assessing the relationship between white matter connectivity and participant function. These correlational analyses reveal significant associations of white matter connectivity with auditory processing, working memory, social skills, and inattention across our three study groups. These findings help elucidate the roles of specific neural circuits in neurodevelopmental disorders, and begin to explore the dimensional relationship between critical cognitive functions and structural connectivity across affected and unaffected children.
Highlights
The human brain is a sensory processor
The results suggest both overlapping and divergent white matter microstructural pathology affecting the two clinical cohorts, with tracts traditionally associated with social emotional processing being significantly affected for the Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) cohort relative to typically developing children (TDC), but relatively unaffected in sensory processing disorders (SPD)
While the most extensive white matter alterations in the SPD subjects are observed in the parieto-occipital tracts, which subserve auditory, tactile, and visual perception and integration, this cohort demonstrates trends towards decreased connectivity compared to TDC in most measured tracts
Summary
The human brain is a sensory processor. Its core function is to perceive, integrate, interpret, and facilitate the appropriate coordinated response to the visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, and proprioceptive information present in the world around us. There is a growing recognition of the crucial importance of sensory processing as it contributes to attention, learning, emotional regulation, and even social function in children affected by a wide spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. There is a growing interest in studying sensory processing and cognition as dimensional traits across typically developing children and those with psychiatric labels such as autism. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have traditionally been characterized by impaired communication, social interaction, and behavioral flexibility [5]. Individuals with ASD have been shown to have ubiquitous challenges in sensory processing [6] with over 90% of children with autism reported to have atypical sensory related behaviors. Children with SPD remain critically underserved with regard to their developmental challenges in our society due to the lack of a diagnostic label recognized in the current DSM 5 manual. It is highly relevant to better characterize the biological bases
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