Abstract
Hemispheric asymmetry in the power spectrum of low-frequency spontaneous hemodynamic fluctuations has been previously observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This observation may imply a specific narrow-frequency band in which individuals with ASD could show more significant alteration in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). To test this assumption, we evaluated narrowband RSFC at several frequencies for functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals recorded from the bilateral temporal lobes on 25 children with ASD and 22 typically developing (TD) children. In several narrow-frequency bands, we observed altered interhemispheric RSFC in ASD. However, in the band of 0.01–0.02 Hz, more mirrored channel pairs (or cortical sites) showed significantly weaker RSFC in the ASD group. Receiver operating characteristic analysis further demonstrated that RSFC in the narrowband of 0.01–0.02 Hz might have better differentiation ability between the ASD and TD groups. This may indicate that the narrowband RSFC could serve as a characteristic for the prediction of ASD.
Highlights
Over decades, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has an astonishing rise in children (Goldson, 2016)
For all frequency bands, including 12 narrowbands (FB1–FB12), the broadband, and Slow-5 band, we counted the number of the mirrored channel pairs for which the correlation coefficients showed significant difference between the ASD and typically developing (TD) groups
Two-sample t-test with false discovery rate (FDR) correction showed that the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) for both HbO2 and Hb in the frequency band of 0.01–0.02 Hz (FB1) had the smallest FDR-corrected q values: q(HbO2) = 0.0024, q(Hb) = 0.0116, indicating that in the band of 0.01–0.02 Hz, the homotopic RSFC for both HbO2 and Hb showed more pronounced difference between the ASD and TD groups
Summary
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has an astonishing rise in children (Goldson, 2016). Individuals in the spectrum often present with symptoms such as impairments in social interaction and communication, restricted interests, and repetitive patterns of behaviors (Veenstra-VanderWeele et al, 2004). These symptoms generally appear in the first 2–3 years of life, and thereafter ASD can be reliably diagnosed based on the observation of these children’s behaviors (Lord et al, 2006), e.g., via the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Luyster et al, 2009). The earlier ASD is diagnosed, the sooner the intervention can be started
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