Background
The default mode network (DMN), a brain system anchored in the posteromedial cortex,
has been identified as underconnected in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
However, to date there have been no attempts to characterize this network and its
involvement in mediating social deficits in children with ASD. Furthermore, the functionally
heterogeneous profile of the posteromedial cortex raises questions regarding how altered
connectivity manifests in specific functional modules within this brain region in
children with ASD.
Methods
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and an anatomically informed approach
were used to investigate the functional connectivity of the DMN in 20 children with
ASD and 19 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children. Multivariate
regression analyses were used to test whether altered patterns of connectivity are
predictive of social impairment severity.
Results
Compared with TD children, children with ASD demonstrated hyperconnectivity of the
posterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortices with predominately medial and anterolateral
temporal cortex. In contrast, the precuneus in ASD children demonstrated hypoconnectivity
with visual cortex, basal ganglia, and locally within the posteromedial cortex. Aberrant
posterior cingulate cortex hyperconnectivity was linked with severity of social impairments
in ASD, whereas precuneus hypoconnectivity was unrelated to social deficits. Consistent
with previous work in healthy adults, a functionally heterogeneous profile of connectivity
within the posteromedial cortex in both TD and ASD children was observed.
Conclusions
This work links hyperconnectivity of DMN-related circuits to the core social deficits
in young children with ASD and highlights fundamental aspects of posteromedial cortex
heterogeneity.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 04, 2013
Accepted:
December 15,
2012
Received in revised form:
November 12,
2012
Received:
July 31,
2012
Footnotes
Authors CJL and LQU contributed equally to this work.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
