Early alterations of large-scale brain networks temporal dynamics in young children with autism

Aurélie Bochet,Marie Schaer,Reem Kais Jan,Nada Kojovic,Holger Franz Sperdin,Martina Franchini,Tonia Anahi Rihs,Christoph Martin Michel

doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02494-3

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with disruption of large-scale brain network. Recently, we found that directed functional connectivity alterations of social brain networks are a core component of atypical brain development at early developmental stages in ASD. Here, we investigated the spatio-temporal dynamics of whole-brain neuronal networks at a subsecond scale in 113 toddlers and preschoolers (66 with ASD) using an EEG microstate approach. We first determined the predominant microstates using established clustering methods. We identified five predominant microstate (labeled as microstate classes A–E) with significant differences in the temporal dynamics of microstate class B between the groups in terms of increased appearance and prolonged duration. Using Markov chains, we found differences in the dynamic syntax between several maps in toddlers and preschoolers with ASD compared to their TD peers. Finally, exploratory analysis of brain–behavioral relationships within the ASD group suggested that the temporal dynamics of some maps were related to conditions comorbid to ASD during early developmental stages.

Highlights

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with disruption of large-scale brain network
The first four maps were visually identical in their spatial orientation to the canonical microstate classes A, B, C, and D previously reported in the literature[6,12]
We identified the five prototypical maps that best described the dataset of toddlers and preschoolers with ASD and their typically developing (TD)

Summary

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with disruption of large-scale brain network. We used a data-driven, reference-free EEG microstate approach[6] to examine differences in the spatial organization and temporal dynamics of whole-brain neuronal networks in a large sample of toddlers and preschoolers with ASD and age-matched typically developing (TD) peers (N = 113, 3 years of age on average). These rapidly changing EEG microstates are closely related and described as the electrophysiological correlates of functional MRI (fMRI) resting-state networks[9,10,11] It is a commonly used method in the EEG field to study variations in the spatial organization and temporal dynamics of large-scale brain networks at rest or during a task. The bootstrapping procedure served to estimate the likelihood of finding the true result we observed in our full cohort from smaller sample sizes of participants

Methods

Results

Conclusion