Detection of atypical network development patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder using magnetoencephalography

<div><p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that involves developmental delays. It has been hypothesized that aberrant neural connectivity in ASD may cause atypical brain network development. Brain graphs not only describe the differences in brain networks between clinical and control groups, but also provide information about network development within each group. In the present study, graph indices of brain networks were estimated in children with ASD and in typically developing (TD) children using magnetoencephalography performed while the children viewed a cartoon video. We examined brain graphs from a developmental point of view, and compared the networks between children with ASD and TD children. Network development patterns (NDPs) were assessed by examining the association between the graph indices and the raw scores on the achievement scale or the age of the children. The ASD and TD groups exhibited different NDPs at both network and nodal levels. In the left frontal areas, the nodal degree and efficiency of the ASD group were negatively correlated with the achievement scores. Reduced network connections were observed in the temporal and posterior areas of TD children. These results suggested that the atypical network developmental trajectory in children with ASD is associated with the development score rather than age.</p></div

Mean brain networks of the two groups.

<p>The mean brain networks of (A) children with ASD and (B) TD children were generated by binarizing the mean association matrices to the adjacency matrices with an equal number of 1. The degree of (A) and (B) was 23. (C) The dashed lines indicate specific connections that exist only in the mean brain networks of children with ASD, and the solid lines indicate connections that exist only in the mean brain networks of TD children.</p

Multivariate logistic regression of HBV prevalence adjusted by age and gender.

§<p>age and gender were adjusted.</p

Multivariate logistic regression of TP prevalence adjusted by age and gender.

§<p>age and gender were adjusted.</p

Correlation maps between the nodal level indices and the achievement scale.

<p>The network degree was set at 23. Panels (A-D) show the maps of the correlation coefficients between the nodal level indices and the age of the children in the ASD (A, B) and TD (C, D) groups. Panels (A) and (C) show the correlation coefficients between the nodal degree and the achievement scale. Panels (C) and (D) show the correlation coefficients between the nodal efficiency and the achievement scale. The corresponding <i>p</i>-value maps (E-H) are shown under each correlation map. Red dots indicate the regions in which the <i>p</i>-values of the nodes are less than 0.01. Blue dots indicate the regions in which the <i>p</i>-values are between 0.01–0.05.</p

Demographic profile of the eye patients by age group.

<p>Statistics for the total and five major ocular diseases, including lens disorders, vitreous/retina diseases, glaucoma, ocular trauma and strabismus, which included more than 5% of the total patients in the various age groups were calculated.</p

Univariable logistic regression analysis of TP prevalence.

<p>Univariable logistic regression analysis of TP prevalence.</p

Participants’ characteristics (sex, age, scores on sub-tests, and achievement scale).

<p>Participants’ characteristics (sex, age, scores on sub-tests, and achievement scale).</p

The correlation coefficients between the nodal level indices for two typical sensors and the raw scores of the achievement scale as a function of degree.

<p>Panels (A) and (B) show the NDPs of the ASD group on the sensor 131. The NDPs of the TD group at sensor 10 are shown in panels (C) and (D). A strong negative correlation can be observed in both groups. The shaded bars indicate <i>p</i>-values less than 0.05. The sensor locations are shown in panel (E).</p

Comparison between nodal level indices in children with ASD and TD children.

<p>The network degree was set at 23. Panels (A) and (B) show the maps of the values of the z-statistic. Warm colors indicate high median values in the TD group, and the cool colors represent high median values in the ASD group. Panel (C) shows the <i>p</i>-value map showing significant differences (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Blue dots indicate the regions in which the <i>p</i>-values are between 0.01–0.05.</p