BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit differences in basic sensorimotor processing as well as general cortical excitability. These observations converge to implicate thalamocortical connectivity as a potential unifying neural mechanism. The goal of this study was to clarify mixed findings on thalamocortical functional connectivity in a large sample of individuals with ASD. METHODS: Using the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), we examined thalamocortical functional connectivity in 228 individuals with ASD and a matched comparison group of 228 typically developing individuals. In order to fully characterize thalamocortical functional networks, we employed complementary seed-based approaches that examined connectivity of major cortical divisions (e.g. prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe) with the thalamus and whole-brain connectivity of specific thalamic sub-regions. RESULTS: Prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and sensorimotor cortex exhibited hyper-connectivity with the thalamus in ASD. In the whole-brain analysis, hyper-connectivity of several thalamic seeds included multiple cortical areas, but tended to converge in temporal cortical areas, including the temporoparietal junction. Follow-up analyses of age effects revealed that the connectivity abnormalities in ASD were more pronounced in adolescents compared to children and adults. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm previous findings of temporal and motor thalamocortical hyper-connectivity in ASD, and extend them to include somatosensory and prefrontal cortex. While not directly addressable with the data available in ABIDE, this widespread hyper-connectivity could theoretically account for sensorimotor symptoms and general cortical excitability in ASD. Future studies should target comprehensive clinical and behavioral characterization in combination with functional connectivity in order to explore this possibility.
BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit differences in basic sensorimotor processing as well as general cortical excitability. These observations converge to implicate thalamocortical connectivity as a potential unifying neural mechanism. The goal of this study was to clarify mixed findings on thalamocortical functional connectivity in a large sample of individuals with ASD. METHODS: Using the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), we examined thalamocortical functional connectivity in 228 individuals with ASD and a matched comparison group of 228 typically developing individuals. In order to fully characterize thalamocortical functional networks, we employed complementary seed-based approaches that examined connectivity of major cortical divisions (e.g. prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe) with the thalamus and whole-brain connectivity of specific thalamic sub-regions. RESULTS: Prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and sensorimotor cortex exhibited hyper-connectivity with the thalamus in ASD. In the whole-brain analysis, hyper-connectivity of several thalamic seeds included multiple cortical areas, but tended to converge in temporal cortical areas, including the temporoparietal junction. Follow-up analyses of age effects revealed that the connectivity abnormalities in ASD were more pronounced in adolescents compared to children and adults. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm previous findings of temporal and motor thalamocortical hyper-connectivity in ASD, and extend them to include somatosensory and prefrontal cortex. While not directly addressable with the data available in ABIDE, this widespread hyper-connectivity could theoretically account for sensorimotor symptoms and general cortical excitability in ASD. Future studies should target comprehensive clinical and behavioral characterization in combination with functional connectivity in order to explore this possibility.
Authors: J Christopher Edgar; Kory Heiken; Yu-Han Chen; John D Herrington; Vivian Chow; Song Liu; Luke Bloy; Mingxiong Huang; Juhi Pandey; Katelyn M Cannon; Saba Qasmieh; Susan E Levy; Robert T Schultz; Timothy P L Roberts Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2015-03
Authors: A Di Martino; C-G Yan; Q Li; E Denio; F X Castellanos; K Alaerts; J S Anderson; M Assaf; S Y Bookheimer; M Dapretto; B Deen; S Delmonte; I Dinstein; B Ertl-Wagner; D A Fair; L Gallagher; D P Kennedy; C L Keown; C Keysers; J E Lainhart; C Lord; B Luna; V Menon; N J Minshew; C S Monk; S Mueller; R-A Müller; M B Nebel; J T Nigg; K O'Hearn; K A Pelphrey; S J Peltier; J D Rudie; S Sunaert; M Thioux; J M Tyszka; L Q Uddin; J S Verhoeven; N Wenderoth; J L Wiggins; S H Mostofsky; M P Milham Journal: Mol Psychiatry Date: 2013-06-18 Impact factor: 15.992
Authors: Zening Fu; Yiheng Tu; Xin Di; Yuhui Du; Jing Sui; Bharat B Biswal; Zhiguo Zhang; N de Lacy; V D Calhoun Journal: Neuroimage Date: 2018-06-06 Impact factor: 6.556
Authors: Kristine McLaughlin; Brittany G Travers; Olga I Dadalko; Douglas C Dean; Do Tromp; Nagesh Adluru; Daniel Destiche; Abigail Freeman; Molly D Prigge; Alyson Froehlich; Tyler C Duffield; Brandon A Zielinski; Erin D Bigler; Nicholas Lange; Jeff S Anderson; Andrew L Alexander; Janet E Lainhart Journal: Autism Res Date: 2017-12-18 Impact factor: 5.216
Authors: Lisa E Mash; Brandon Keehn; Annika C Linke; Thomas T Liu; Jonathan L Helm; Frank Haist; Jeanne Townsend; Ralph-Axel Müller Journal: Brain Connect Date: 2020-02