Tuning Eye-Gaze Perception by Transitory STS Inhibition

Saitovitch, Ana; Popa, Traian; Lemaître, Hervé; Rechtman, Elza; Lamy, Jean‐Charles; Grévent, David; Calmon, Raphaël; Meunier, Sabine; Brunelle, Françis; Samson, Yves; Boddaert, Nathalie; Zilbovicius, Mônica

doi:10.1093/cercor/bhw045

Cited by 25 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Results presented here suggest that STS could become an interesting target for this type of intervention in ASD. In a recent study, we have shown that, by disrupting the right pSTS neural network in healthy volunteers with inhibitory TMS, we artificially induced a gaze pattern that is similar to the gaze pattern observed in ASD, namely reduced eye-looking [42]. Secondly, multivariate classification analysis had shown that superior temporal rest hypoperfusion detected with PET allows prediction of ASD diagnosis with high accuracy,…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superior temporal sulcus hypoperfusion in children with autism spectrum disorder: an arterial spin-labeling magnetic resonance study

Saitovitch

Rechtman

Lemaître

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Advances in neuroimaging techniques have significantly improved our understanding of the neural basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several attempts have been made to label the main neuroimaging phenotype of ASD, mostly by anatomical and functional activation studies, but none of the frameworks have been without controversy. Over the past decade, a renewed interest for rest brain functioning has emerged in the scientific community, reflected on a large number of resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) studies, but results remain heterogeneous. It is possible today to investigate rest brain functioning by measuring rest cerebral blood flow (CBF) with MRI using arterial spin labeling (ASL). Here, we investigated rest CBF abnormalities using noninvasive ASL-MRI in 18 children with ASD without cognitive delay (10.4 ± 2.8 y) and 30 typically developing children (10.6 ± 3.0 y). Following quality control, images from a final sample of 12 children with ASD (11.2 ± 2.9 y) and 28 typically developing children (10.1 ± 2.5 y) were analyzed. Whole brain voxel-by-voxel analysis showed significant rest CBF decrease in temporal regions, mainly in the superior temporal sulcus (STS), in children with ASD. This hypoperfusion was individually detected in 83% of children with ASD. Finally, negative correlation was observed between ASD severity scores and rest CBF in the right posterior STS. Strikingly, despite the small sample studied here, our results are extremely similar to previous PET and SPECT findings describing decreased rest CBF in the same superior temporal regions at group and individual levels, as well as correlation with symptoms severity. The congruence between these results, with different methods and in different ASD profiles, reinforce the strength of rest functional abnormalities within these superior temporal regions in ASD and strongly indicates it might be a core characteristic of the disorder. Identifying a core dysfunctional region in ASD bears direct implications to the development of novel therapeutic interventions, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation. In addition, if confirmed in a larger sample, rest temporal hypoperfusion could become a reliable brain imaging biomarker in ASD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superior temporal sulcus hypoperfusion in children with autism spectrum disorder: an arterial spin-labeling magnetic resonance study

Saitovitch

Rechtman

Lemaître

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Crus I is located in the posterior lobe of the cerebellum (lobule VII). This region is connected to two regions involved in ASD: the superior temporal sulcus 25 , 45 , 46 and the prefrontal lobe 47 . The volume of Crus I has been investigated in ASD primarily in pediatric populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebellar anatomical alterations and attention to eyes in autism

Laidi

Boisgontier

Chakravarty

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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The cerebellum is implicated in social cognition and is likely to be involved in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The goal of our study was to explore cerebellar morphology in adults with ASD and its relationship to eye contact, as measured by fixation time allocated on the eye region using an eye-tracking device. Two-hundred ninety-four subjects with ASD and controls were included in our study and underwent a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. Global segmentation and cortical parcellation of the cerebellum were performed. A sub-sample of 59 subjects underwent an eye tracking protocol in order to measure the fixation time allocated to the eye region. We did not observe any difference in global cerebellar volumes between ASD patients and controls; however, regional analyses found a decrease of the volume of the right anterior cerebellum in subjects with ASD compared to controls. There were significant correlations between fixation time on eyes and the volumes of the vermis and Crus I. Our results suggest that cerebellar morphology may be related to eye avoidance and reduced social attention. Eye tracking may be a promising neuro-anatomically based stratifying biomarker of ASD.

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“…The morphological abnormality of the right cSTS1 appears to reflect a modification of neurodevelopment among patients with ASD, and may be the neurobiological basis of a clinical phenotype. The right cSTS1 may thus be an interesting candidate stratifying biomarker, as well as a novel target for neuromodulative treatments, such as rTMS .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Functional and morphological abnormalities of the STS have been frequently reported in individuals with ASD. Moreover, a recent study using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) demonstrated that the right posterior STS (pSTS) is involved in one's ability to orient towards the eyes .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%