Inter-individual heterogeneity of functional brain networks in children with autism spectrum disorder

Molecular Autism

Research

Junfeng Liu¹  Le Gao²  Yabo Cao²  Guangjin Zhai²  Xiaonan Guo²  Dong Cui²  Xia Zhang² 

[1] Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, China;School of Information Science and Engineering, Yanshan University, 066004, Qinhuangdao, China;Hebei Key Laboratory of Information Transmission and Signal Processing, Yanshan University, 066004, Qinhuangdao, China;

关键词: Autism spectrum disorder;    Functional magnetic resonance imaging;    Functional connectivity;    k-means clustering;    Subtype;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13229-022-00535-0

 received in 2022-09-09, accepted in 2022-12-20,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with considerable clinical heterogeneity. This study aimed to explore the heterogeneity of ASD based on inter-individual heterogeneity of functional brain networks.MethodsResting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database were used in this study for 105 children with ASD and 102 demographically matched typical controls (TC) children. Functional connectivity (FC) networks were first obtained for ASD and TC groups, and inter-individual deviation of functional connectivity (IDFC) from the TC group was then calculated for each individual with ASD. A k-means clustering algorithm was used to obtain ASD subtypes based on IDFC patterns. The FC patterns were further compared between ASD subtypes and the TC group from the brain region, network, and whole-brain levels. The relationship between IDFC and the severity of clinical symptoms of ASD for ASD subtypes was also analyzed using a support vector regression model.ResultsTwo ASD subtypes were identified based on the IDFC patterns. Compared with the TC group, the ASD subtype 1 group exhibited a hypoconnectivity pattern and the ASD subtype 2 group exhibited a hyperconnectivity pattern. IDFC for ASD subtype 1 and subtype 2 was found to predict the severity of social communication impairments and the severity of restricted and repetitive behaviors in ASD, respectively.LimitationsOnly male children were selected for this study, which limits the ability to study the effects of gender and development on ASD heterogeneity.ConclusionsThese results suggest the existence of subtypes with different FC patterns in ASD and provide insight into the complex pathophysiological mechanism of clinical manifestations of ASD.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

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