Abstract
Impairments in social communication (SC) represent one of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While previous studies have demonstrated that exercise intervention improves SC in children with ASD, there is currently no neuroscientific evidence supporting its benefits. Therefore, we evaluated the outcomes of a long-term exercise intervention on SC and white matter integrity (WMI) in children with ASD, and further explored the neural mechanism of exercise intervention on SC in these children. Twenty-nine children aged 3–6 years with ASD were assigned to either exercise group (n = 15) or control group (n = 14). The exercise group received a scheduled mini-basketball training program (5 sessions per week, forty minutes per session) for 12 consecutive weeks, while the control group was instructed to maintain their daily activities. Groups were assessed before and after intervention on SC and WMI. SC scores were lower in the exercise group post-intervention. Compared with the control group, WMI of the exercise group showed higher fractional anisotropy in the body of corpus callosum, fornix, right cerebral peduncle, left posterior limb of internal capsule, right retrolenticular part of internal capsule, left anterior corona radiate and left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus; lower mean diffusivity in the left anterior corona radiate and the bilateral corticospinal tract. Furthermore, increased WMI was associated with lower scores on a measure of social cognition in the overall sample. This study is the first to provide evidence that exercise intervention improves SC and white matter integrity in children with autism.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disabilities with specific cognitive-behavioral features and fairly prevalent comorbidities [1]
social communication (SC) deficits among these children resulted in poor attachment and intimacy, delayed learning process, and reduced self-esteem and self-confidence, which, in turn, has negative impacts on all aspects of their life and their future career [6]
There were no significant differences between the groups in demographic variables and SRS-2 (Table 4) at baseline
Summary
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disabilities with specific cognitive-behavioral features and fairly prevalent comorbidities (i.e., epilepsy, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) [1]. ASD children are typically self-absorbed and live in a seemingly private world with limited social communication (SC) [2] Such SC deficits involve social cognition, pragmatics, language processing, and verbal and non-verbal communication [3]. SC deficits among these children resulted in poor attachment and intimacy, delayed learning process, and reduced self-esteem and self-confidence, which, in turn, has negative impacts on all aspects of their life and their future career [6]. In this context, epidemiological data show an increasing prevalence of ASD of 1.85% in children in 2016 worldwide, among boys [7]. This increased prevalence of ASD and the associated disease burden have motivated several scholars to extend the research regarding autistic etiology, diagnosis, and treatment [1]
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