Correlation between autistic traits and brain functional connectivity in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: a resting state MEG study

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundNeurophysiological studies recognized that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with altered patterns of over- and under-connectivity. However, few results are available about network organization in children with ASD in the early phases of development and the correlation with the severity of core autistic features.MethodsThe present study aimed at investigating the association between brain connectivity derived by MEG signals and severity of ASD traits measured with different diagnostic clinical scales, in a sample of 16 children with ASD aged 2 to 6 years.ResultsA significant correlation emerged between connectivity strength in cortical brain areas implicated in several resting state networks and the severity of communication anomalies, social interaction problems, social affect problems, and repetitive behaviors. Seed analysis revealed that this pattern of correlation was mainly caused by global rather than local effects.ConclusionsThe present results confirm that altered connectivity strength in several resting state networks is related to clinical features and may contribute to neurofunctional correlates of ASD. Future studies implementing the same method on a wider and stratified sample may further support functional connectivity as a possible biomarker of the condition.