Journal
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
Volume 78, Issue 9, Pages 625-634Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.03.024
Keywords
Autism spectrum disorder; Cerebellum; Cerebrum; Functional connectivity; MRI; Sensori-motor; Supramodal
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Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01-MH081023]
- Autism Speaks Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship [7850]
- Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Grant [AR093335]
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BACKGROUND: The cerebellum plays important roles in sensori-motor and supramodal cognitive functions. Cellular, volumetric, and functional abnormalities of the cerebellum have been found in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but no comprehensive investigation of cerebro-cerebellar connectivity in ASD is available. METHODS: We used resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging in 56 children and adolescents (28 subjects with ASD, 28 typically developing subjects) 8-17 years old. Partial and total correlation analyses were performed for unilateral regions of interest (ROIs), distinguished in two broad domains as sensorimotor (premotor/primary motor, somatosensory, superior temporal, and occipital) and supramodal (prefrontal, posterior parietal, and inferior and middle temporal). RESULTS: There were three main findings: 1) Total correlation analyses showed predominant cerebro-cerebellar functional overconnectivity in the ASD group; 2) partial correlation analyses that emphasized domain specificity (sensori-motor vs. supramodal) indicated a pattern of robustly increased connectivity in the ASD group (compared with the typically developing group) for sensori-motor ROIs but predominantly reduced connectivity for supramodal ROIs; and 3) this atypical pattern of connectivity was supported by significantly increased noncanonical connections (between sensori-motor cerebral and supramodal cerebellar ROIs and vice versa) in the ASD group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that sensori-motor intrinsic functional connectivity is atypically increased in ASD, at the expense of connectivity supporting cerebellar participation in supramodal cognition.
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