Sex Differences in Functional Connectivity Between Resting State Brain Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Vânia Tavares,Hugo Ferreira,Diana Prata,Marília Antunes,Luís Afonso Fernandes

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05191-6

Abstract

Functional brain connectivity (FBC) has previously been examined in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between-resting-state networks (RSNs) using a highly sensitive and reproducible hypothesis-free approach. However, results have been inconsistent and sex differences have only recently been taken into consideration using this approach. We estimated main effects of diagnosis and sex and a diagnosis by sex interaction on between-RSNs FBC in 83 ASD (40 females/43 males) and 85 typically developing controls (TC; 43 females/42 males). We found increased connectivity between the default mode (DM) and (a) the executive control networks in ASD (vs. TC); (b) the cerebellum networks in males (vs. females); and (c) female-specific altered connectivity involving visual, language and basal ganglia (BG) networks in ASD—in suggestive compatibility with ASD cognitive and neuroscientific theories.

Highlights

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social, behavioral and cognitive impairments (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
Averaged Functional brain connectivity (FBC) z-scored matrices for autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-females, ASD-males, typically developing controls (TC)-females, and TC-males groups are depicted in Supplementary material (Supplementary Table S4 and Supplementary Figure S3)
The main effect of diagnosis on the between-resting-state networks (RSNs) FBC was statistically significant in one pair of RSN (Table 2): ‘default mode—right executive control’ (FWER-corrected p-value = 0.049), with increased correlation in ASD compared to TC (p-value = 0.001; Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social, behavioral and cognitive impairments (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The classical categorical system of diagnosing pervasive developmental disorders (i.e. autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett’s disorder) as found in the 4th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), was collapsed into a single dimensional diagnosis of ASD in the 5th edition (DSM-5). The rationale behind this dimension collapse is that the core symptoms exhibited by individuals with ASD are shared across the previous categories, but within a severity degree spectrum. There are a number of major cognitive hypotheses for ASD: the ‘Theory of Mind (ToM) dysfunction’ hypothesis

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion