Brain Connectivity In Autism

The brain's ability to process information crucially relies on connectivity. Understanding how the brain processes complex information and how such abilities are disrupted in individuals with neuropsychological disorders will require an improved understanding of brain connectivity. Autism is an intriguingly complex neurodevelopmental disorder with multidimensional symptoms and cognitive characteristics. A biological origin for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) had been proposed even in the earliest published accounts (Kanner, 1943; Asperger, 1944). Despite decades of research, a focal neurobiological marker for autism has been elusive. Nevertheless, disruptions in interregional and functional and anatomical connectivity have been a hallmark of neural functioning in ASD. Theoretical accounts of connectivity perceive ASD as a cognitive and neurobiological disorder associated with altered functioning of integrative circuitry. Neuroimaging studies have reported disruptions in functional connectivity (synchronization of activated brain areas) during cognitive tasks and during task-free resting states. While these insights are valuable, they do not address the time-lagged causality and directionality of such correlations. Despite the general promise of the connectivity account of ASD, inconsistencies and methodological differences among studies call for more thorough investigations. A comprehensive neurological account of ASD should incorporate functional, effective, and anatomical connectivity measures and test the diagnostic utility of such measures. In addition, questions pertaining to how cognitive and behavioral intervention can target connection abnormalities in ASD should be addressed. This research topic of the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience addresses “Brain Connectivity in Autism” primarily from cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging perspectives.

In recent years Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been considered as resulting from altered connectivity between regions, which may explain characteristic manifestations in socio-emotional function, communication and repetitive behaviour observed clinically. This thesis aims to provide evidence for altered anatomy of networks in ASD. The first step consisted in the creation of a diffusion tensor tractography atlas of the normal human brain derived from 40 healthy adults. The atlas was then used to localise the findings from a meta-analysis of published voxel-based morphometry studies investigating white matter abnormalities in ASD. This analysis showed that patients with ASD display abnormalities in long white matter association tracts, such as the arcuate and uncinate fasciculus, known to be important for language and social cognition. A second step consisted in the tractography analysis of limbic and cerebellar tracts in a small pilot study. Our findings confirmed differences in the the uncinate tract in ASD and in addition we found differences in the cingulum and major intracecebellar and cerebellar output tract. Finally, Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) and tractography analysis of a multi-centre, case-control study was performed on 61 individuals with ASD and 61 controls. Differences in the frontal connections of the arcuate fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, cingulum and corpus callosum were found. Tract specific measurements in the arcuate and uncinate were associated with a history of delayed echolalia and impaired used efface expression in childhood, respectively. In conclusion these series of studies show that ASD are associated with specific structural abnormalities of the limbic, language and interhemispheric white matter fibres. Differences in white matter anatomy were localised in major connections to the frontal lobe and associated with specific autistic features and traits in chilldhood.

"What is autism and Asperger syndrome? What are the core symptoms, and what causes them? How early can autism be recognised and what can be done? Why does autism seem to be more and more common? Are we all a little bit autistic?" "This Very Short Introduction offers a clear statement on what is currently known about autism and Asperger syndrome. Looking at symptoms from the full spectrum of autistic disorders, and evaluating current evidence from neuroscience and genetics, this authoritative and accessible book explores the source and nature of social impairment and exceptional talent. Autism: A Very Short Introduction gives a glimpse of life seen through the eyes of autism."--BOOK JACKET.

Weaving her own experience with remarkable new discoveries, Grandin introduces the neuroimaging advances and genetic research that link brain science to behavior, even sharing her own brain scans from numerous studies. Readers meet the scientists and self-advocates who are introducing innovative theories of what causes, how it is diagnosed, and how best to treat autism.

This two-volume set LNBI 10813 and LNBI 10814 constitutes the proceedings of the 6th International Work-Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering, IWBBIO 2018, held in Granada, Spain, in April 2018.The 88 regular papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 273 submissions. The scope of the conference spans the following areas: bioinformatics for healthcare and diseases; bioinformatics tools to integrate omics dataset and address biological question; challenges and advances in measurement and self-parametrization of complex biological systems; computational genomics; computational proteomics; computational systems for modelling biological processes; drug delivery system design aided by mathematical modelling and experiments; generation, management and biological insights from big data; high-throughput bioinformatic tools for medical genomics; next generation sequencing and sequence analysis; interpretable models in biomedicine and bioinformatics; little-big data. Reducing the complexity and facing uncertainty of highly underdetermined phenotype prediction problems; biomedical engineering; biomedical image analysis; biomedical signal analysis; challenges in smart and wearable sensor design for mobile health; and healthcare and diseases.

This volume makes clear that the cognitive and behavioural symptoms of neurologic disorders and syndromes are dynamic and changing. Each chapter describes the neuroplastic processes at work in a particular condition, giving rise to these ongoing cognitive changes.

This book covers state-of-the-art medical image analysis approaches currently pursued in autism research. Chapters cover recent advances in diagnosis using structural neuroimaging. All aspects of imaging are included, such as electrophysiology (EEG, ERP, QEEG, and MEG), postmortem techniques, and advantages and difficulties of depositing/acquiring images in larger databases. The book incorporates 2D, 3D, and 4D imaging and advances scientific research within the broad field of autism imaging.

Neurodevelopmental disorders encompass a group of conditions that can typically manifest during early childhood. These include intellectual disabilities, communication disorders, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning disorder (SLD), and motor disorders. Early identification and assessment can be a valuable tool in determining diagnosis, prognosis, functional abilities, and formulating clinical intervention for both children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders. Emerging Trends in the Diagnosis and Intervention of Neurodevelopmental Disorders is an essential reference source that discusses and disseminates contributions covering recent trends in diagnosis, assessment, and intervention techniques. Featuring research on topics such as clinical linguistics, neural connectivity, and animal-assisted therapy, this book is ideally designed for speech pathologists, social workers, occupational therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, pediatricians, researchers, clinicians, and academicians seeking coverage on neural and developmental disorder identification and strategies for clinician support and therapies.

The Neuroscience of Autism provides a comprehensive accounting of autism spectrum disorders by integrating scientific findings from behavioral, cognitive and neurobiological research. The book begins by defining autism, identifying characteristics and prevalence, exploring its history, and then moving on to the cognitive and social bases of behavioral symptoms, the brain bases of behavioral and cognitive symptoms, and finally, intervention practices. It examines theoretical models such as weak central coherence, enhanced perceptual functioning, and the extreme male brain hypothesis. Finally, the book addresses the increased attention on the brain connectivity model of autism, looking at the synchronization of brain activity across different brain areas, the causal influence of a brain region on another, and white matter cable connections in the brain. Delves into the increasing prevalence of autism in the United States Focuses on screening tools for early identification Discusses the neuroanatomical differences seen in individuals with autism Examines the inferences gained from functional MRI studies of autism

Although much of the current literature in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has focused on illuminating their biological underpinnings or identifying effective treatment approaches, very little research has integrated these two areas of study and examined the neurobiological outcomes associated with various autism interventions. The proposed study will use functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) to measure changes in resting state connectivity associated with an intensive behavioral intervention for young children with ASD. Independent component analysis and t-tests will be used to determine if 20 children receiving a behavioral intervention experience greater changes in connectivity than 20 children (matched for sex and developmental age) in a control group receiving treatment as usual (TAU).