Lobular patterns of cerebellar resting‐state connectivity in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core deficits in social functioning. Core autistics traits refer to poor social and imagination skills, poor attention‐switching/strong focus of attention, exceptional attention to detail, as expressed by the autism‐spectrum...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European journal of neuroscience 2018-03, Vol.47 (6), p.729-735
Main Authors: Olivito, Giusy, Lupo, Michela, Laghi, Fiorenzo, Clausi, Silvia, Baiocco, Roberto, Cercignani, Mara, Bozzali, Marco, Leggio, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autism
autism‐spectrum quotient
Cerebellum
Crus II
fMRI
Morphometry
Neural networks
Neurodevelopmental disorders
Neuroimaging
Structure-function relationships
Substantia grisea
voxel‐based morphometry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core deficits in social functioning. Core autistics traits refer to poor social and imagination skills, poor attention‐switching/strong focus of attention, exceptional attention to detail, as expressed by the autism‐spectrum quotient. Over the years, the importance of the cerebellum in the aetiology of autism spectrum disorder has been acknowledged. Neuroimaging studies have provided a strong support to this view, showing both structural and functional connectivity alterations to affect the cerebellum in autism spectrum disorder. According to the underconnectivity theory, disrupted connectivity within cerebello‐cerebral networks has been specifically implicated in the aetiology of autism spectrum disorder. However, inconsistent results have been generated across studies. In this study, an integrated approach has been used in a selected population of adults with autism spectrum disorder to analyse both cerebellar morphometry and functional connectivity. In individuals with autism spectrum disorder, a decreased cerebellar grey matter volume affected the right Crus II, a region showing extensive connections with cerebral areas related to social functions. This grey matter reduction correlates with the degree of autistic traits as measured by autism‐spectrum quotient. Interestingly, altered functional connectivity was found between the reduced cerebellar Crus II and contralateral cerebral regions, such as frontal and temporal areas. Overall, the present data suggest that adults with autism spectrum disorder present with specific cerebellar structural alterations that may affect functional connectivity within cerebello‐cerebral modules relevant to social processing and account for core autistics traits. Compared to controls, adults with autism spectrum disorder showed a significant cerebellar GM loss in the right Crus II. When looking at functional connectivity, the right Crus II showed decreased functional connectivity with cerebral areas clearly related to social functions, such as frontal, temporal and precuneus regions. Interestingly, the cerebellar GM loss in the right Crus II was related to the degree of autistic traits as expressed by the autism‐spectrum quotient.
ISSN:0953-816X
1460-9568
DOI:10.1111/ejn.13752