Aberrant flexibility of dynamic brain network in patients with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a collection of neurodevelopmental disorders whose pathobiology remains elusive. This study aimed to investigate the possible neural mechanisms underlying ASD using a dynamic brain network model and a relatively large-sample, multi-site dataset.MethodsResting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 208 ASD patients and 227 typical development (TD) controls, who were drawn from the multi-site Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE)-Preproceesed database. Brain network flexibilities were estimated and compared between the ASD and TD groups at both global and local levels, after adjusting for sex, age, head motion, and site effects. Correlations between the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) total score and brain network measures were also investigated after adjusting for the same above covariates.ResultsSignificantly increased brain network flexibilities (indicating a decreased stability) at the global level, as well as at the local level within the default-mode and sensorimotor areas were found in ASD patients than TD participants. Additionally, significant ASD-related decreases in flexibilities (indicating excessively increased stability) were also observed in several occipital regions at the nodal level. Most of these changes were significantly correlated with the ADOS total score in the entire sample.ConclusionThe results in this study suggested that ASD is characterized by significant changes in temporal stabilities of functional brain network. Our results also pointed to ASD-related dysfunctions in the default-mode, sensorimotor, and occipital systems from a perspective of brain network stability, which can further strengthen our understanding of the pathobiology of ASD.