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. 2018 Jan 1;13(1):32-42.
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsx129.

Repetitive behaviors in autism are linked to imbalance of corticostriatal connectivity: a functional connectivity MRI study

Angela E Abbott  1 , Annika C Linke  1 , Aarti Nair  1   2   3 , Afrooz Jahedi  1   4 , Laura A Alba  1 , Christopher L Keown  1   4   5 , Inna Fishman  1   2 , Ralph-Axel Müller  1   2
Affiliations

Repetitive behaviors in autism are linked to imbalance of corticostriatal connectivity: a functional connectivity MRI study

Angela E Abbott et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. .

Abstract

The neural underpinnings of repetitive behaviors (RBs) in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), ranging from cognitive to motor characteristics, remain unknown. We assessed RB symptomatology in 50 ASD and 52 typically developing (TD) children and adolescents (ages 8-17 years), examining intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of corticostriatal circuitry, which is important for reward-based learning and integration of emotional, cognitive and motor processing, and considered impaired in ASDs. Connectivity analyses were performed for three functionally distinct striatal seeds (limbic, frontoparietal and motor). Functional connectivity with cortical regions of interest was assessed for corticostriatal circuit connectivity indices and ratios, testing the balance of connectivity between circuits. Results showed corticostriatal overconnectivity of limbic and frontoparietal seeds, but underconnectivity of motor seeds. Correlations with RBs were found for connectivity between the striatal motor seeds and cortical motor clusters from the whole-brain analysis, and for frontoparietal/limbic and motor/limbic connectivity ratios. Division of ASD participants into high (n = 17) and low RB subgroups (n = 19) showed reduced frontoparietal/limbic and motor/limbic circuit ratios for high RB compared to low RB and TD groups in the right hemisphere. Results suggest an association between RBs and an imbalance of corticostriatal iFC in ASD, being increased for limbic, but reduced for frontoparietal and motor circuits.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; functional connectivity; repetitive behavior; striatum.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Surface renderings of within-group and between-group functional connectivity effects for three striatal seeds per hemisphere in (A) limbic, (B) frontoparietal and (C) motor parcels (as shown in Supplementary Figure S1A; all clusters).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
RB subgroup means for (A) right frontoparietal/limbic ratio and (B) right motor/limbic ratio.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Partial correlations of age with (A) left limbic circuit index and (B) right limbic circuit index for ASD and TD groups controlling for head motion (RMSD).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Partial correlations in the ASD group for (A) right frontoparietal/limbic circuit ratio with RB Cognitive Subtotal and for (B) right motor/limbic circuit ratio with RB Motor Subtotal, controlling for age and RMSD. Data points surrounded by a red box indicate female participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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