World Health Organization class I registered international clinical trial platform, ChiCTR-ROC-17012877.

Little is currently known about the longitudinal developmental patterns of hubs in the whole-brain white matter (WM) structural networks among toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and deterministic tractography to map the WM structural networks in 37 ASD toddlers and 27 age-, gender- and developmental quotient-matched controls with developmental delay (DD) toddlers aged 2-3 years old at baseline (Time 1) and at 2-year follow-up (Time 2). Furthermore, graph-theoretical methods were applied to investigate alterations in the network hubs in these patients at the two time points. The results showed that after 2 years, 17 hubs were identified in the ASD subjects compared to the controls, including 13 hubs that had not changed from baseline and 4 hubs that were newly identified. In addition, alterations in the properties of the hubs of the right middle frontal gyrus, right insula, left median cingulate gyri, and bilateral precuneus were significantly correlated with alterations in the behavioral data for ASD patients. These results indicated that at the stage of 2-5 years of age, ASD children showed distributions of network hubs that were relatively stable, with minor differences. Abnormal developmental patterns in the five areas mentioned above in ASD may contribute to abnormalities in the social and nonsocial characteristics of this disorder. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1218-1228. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: This work studied the longitudinal developmental patterns of hubs in the whole-brain white matter (WM) structural network among toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The findings of this study could have implications for understanding how the abnormalities in hub organization in ASD account for behavioral deficits in patients and may provide potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis and the subsequent monitoring of progression and treatment effects for patients with ASD.

Background Fairness has received much attention in our society. At present, the findings regarding fair decision-making in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD) are inconsistent. Previous studies have shown that the fair decision-making of typically developing children is influenced by theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF). As those with HF-ASD have defects in both domains, this study aims to explore the differences in fair decision-making between children and adolescents with HF-ASD and those with typical development (TD). Methods We used a simple ultimatum game (UG) to explore 31 children and adolescents with HF-ASD and 38 children and adolescents with TD. T tests and chi-square tests were used to compare group differences, and Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis were used to analyse the mechanisms influencing the two groups’ unfair acceptance rates. Results The results show that children with HF-ASD are more likely to accept unfair offers, but for adolescents, the difference is not significant. Regression analysis showed that the interaction between the behavior regulation index (BRI) and age could negatively predict the unfair acceptance rate of children and adolescents with HF-ASD. Working memory and ToM can negatively predict the unfair acceptance rate of those with TD. Conclusion This study concluded that the development of fair decision-making by children and adolescents with HF-ASD falls far behind that of those with TD. Intuition processes play a dominant role in the fair decision-making processes of children and adolescents with HF-ASD, and we believe that comorbidity, age, experience and emotional management are important factors influencing the fair decision-making of individuals with HF-ASD.