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. 2016 Mar 17;11(3):e0151879.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151879. eCollection 2016.

Functional Connectivity of the Caudal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Is Decreased in Autism

Yuanyue Zhou  1   2 , Lijuan Shi  1 , Xilong Cui  1 , Suhong Wang  3 , Xuerong Luo  1
Affiliations

Functional Connectivity of the Caudal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Is Decreased in Autism

Yuanyue Zhou et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is frequently reported to have functionally distinct sub-regions that play key roles in different intrinsic networks. However, the contribution of the ACC, which is connected to several cortical areas and the limbic system, to autism is not clearly understood, although it may be involved in dysfunctions across several distinct but related functional domains. By comparing resting-state fMRI data from persons with autism and healthy controls, we sought to identify the abnormalities in the functional connectivity (FC) of ACC sub-regions in autism. The analyses found autism-related reductions in FC between the left caudal ACC and the right rolandic operculum, insula, postcentral gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and the middle temporal gyrus. The FC (z-scores) between the left caudal ACC and the right insula was negatively correlated with the Stereotyped Behaviors and Restricted Interests scores of the autism group. These findings suggest that the caudal ACC is recruited selectively in the pathomechanism of autism.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Locations of the five ACC sub-regions, which are labeled by red circles.
Labels 1 to 10 indicate, respectively, the left caudal ACC, dorsal ACC, rostral ACC, perigenual ACC, and subgenual ACC, and the right caudal ACC, dorsal ACC, rostral ACC, perigenual ACC and subgenual ACC respectively. L, left; R, right; ACC, anterior cingulate cortex.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Functional connectivity maps of five ACC sub-regions for the ASD group and the healthy control group, corrected for multiple comparisons.
The maps were corrected for multiple comparisons using Gaussian random theory with q < 0.05 (voxel p < 0.01, z > 2.3). The left panel (labels A to E) shows the functional connectivity maps of the caudal ACC, dorsal ACC, rostral ACC, perigenual ACC, and subgenual ACC in the autism group. The right panel (labels A to E) shows the functional connectivity maps of the right five ACC sub-regions in HC group. HC, healthy control; ACC, anterior cingulate cortex.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Functional connectivity maps of the five ACC sub-regions for the ASD group and the healthy control group, based on thresholding.
Maps of the left five ACC sub-regions and the right five ACC sub-regions in the HC group (A, B) and the autism group (C, D), using a threshold of |t| > 15. The brain areas with different colors indicate the mask where the voxels survived the threshold.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Brain regions showing significant differences in the functional connectivity of the left caudal ACC in the autism group compared with the healthy control group.
Brain regions showing significant differences in functional connectivity of the left caudal ACC in persons with autism compared with the healthy controls. The blue color indicates decreased functional connectivity in the autism group. FC, functional connectivity; ACC, anterior cingulate cortex.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Correlation between altered functional connectivity and Stereotyped Behaviors and Restricted Interests (SBRI) scores in the autism group.
Altered functional connectivity (z-scores) between the left caudal ACC and right insula were significantly correlated with SBRI scores in the autism group. ACC, anterior cingulate cortex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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