Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by impairments in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Neuroimaging studies have shown complex patterns and functional connectivity (FC) in ASD, with no clear consensus on brain-behavior relationships or shared patterns of FC with typically developing controls. Here, we used a dimensional approach to characterize two distinct clusters of FC patterns across both ASD participants and controls using k-means clustering. Using multivariate statistical analyses, a categorical approach was taken to characterize differences in FC between subtypes and between diagnostic groups. One subtype was defined by increased FC within resting-state networks and decreased FC across networks compared with the other subtype. A separate FC pattern distinguished ASD from controls, particularly within default mode, cingulo-opercular, sensorimotor, and occipital networks. There was no significant interaction between subtypes and diagnostic groups. Finally, a dimensional analysis of FC patterns with behavioral measures of IQ, social responsiveness, and ASD severity showed unique brain-behavior relations in each subtype and a continuum of brain-behavior relations from ASD to controls within one subtype. These results demonstrate that distinct clusters of FC patterns exist across ASD and controls, and that FC subtypes can reveal unique information about brain-behavior relationships.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in social cognition as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs; American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
Such theories include reduced communication between frontal and posterior brain regions (Just et al, 2012), increased local functional connectivity (FC) along with reduced long-range FC (Belmonte et al, 2004; Courchesne & Pierce, 2005), and an abnormal developmental trajectory of FC compared with typically developing (TD) individuals (Nomi & Uddin, 2015; Uddin et al, 2013b). Complex patterns of both increased and decreased FC have been found in neuroimaging studies of ASD, and results are inconsistent across studies
When these effects were not removed, there was a significant difference in the distribution of scan sites between the two subtypes defined by k-means clustering, X2 (4, N=266) = 78.60, p < 0.001
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in social cognition as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It has been proposed that these complex behavioral features are associated with atypical patterns of functional connectivity (FC). Such theories include reduced communication between frontal and posterior brain regions (Just et al, 2012), increased local FC along with reduced long-range FC (Belmonte et al, 2004; Courchesne & Pierce, 2005), and an abnormal developmental trajectory of FC compared with typically developing (TD) individuals (Nomi & Uddin, 2015; Uddin et al, 2013b). Complex patterns of both increased and decreased FC have been found in neuroimaging studies of ASD, and results are inconsistent across studies (see Hull et al, 2016, Picci et al, 2016, and Uddin et al, 2013b, for reviews)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
