Juan Liu, Qian-Rong Liu, Zhao-Min Wu, Qiao-Ru Chen, Jing Chen, Yuan Wang, Xiao-Lan Cao, Mei-Xia Dai, Chao Dong, Qiao Liu, Jun Zhu, Lin-Lin Zhang, Ying Li, Yu-Feng Wang, Lu Liu, Bin-Rang Yang
{"title":"Specific brain imaging alterations underlying autistic traits in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.","authors":"Juan Liu, Qian-Rong Liu, Zhao-Min Wu, Qiao-Ru Chen, Jing Chen, Yuan Wang, Xiao-Lan Cao, Mei-Xia Dai, Chao Dong, Qiao Liu, Jun Zhu, Lin-Lin Zhang, Ying Li, Yu-Feng Wang, Lu Liu, Bin-Rang Yang","doi":"10.1186/s12993-023-00222-x","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Autistic traits (ATs) are frequently reported in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to examine ATs in children with ADHD from both behavioral and neuroimaging perspectives.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) to assess and define subjects with and without ATs. For behavioral analyses, 67 children with ADHD and ATs (ADHD + ATs), 105 children with ADHD but without ATs (ADHD - ATs), and 44 typically developing healthy controls without ATs (HC - ATs) were recruited. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data and analyzed the mean amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (mALFF) values (an approach used to depict different spontaneous brain activities) in a sub-sample. The imaging features that were shared between ATs and ADHD symptoms or that were unique to one or the other set of symptoms were illustrated as a way to explore the \"brain-behavior\" relationship.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared to ADHD-ATs, the ADHD + ATs group showed more global impairment in all aspects of autistic symptoms and higher hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI). Partial-correlation analysis indicated that HI was significantly positively correlated with all aspects of ATs in ADHD. Imaging analyses indicated that mALFF values in the left middle occipital gyrus (MOG), left parietal lobe (PL)/precuneus, and left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) might be specifically related to ADHD, while those in the right MTG might be more closely associated with ATs. Furthermore, altered mALFF in the right PL/precuneus correlated with both ADHD and ATs, albeit in diverse directions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The co-occurrence of ATs in children with ADHD manifested as different behavioral characteristics and specific brain functional alterations. Assessing ATs in children with ADHD could help us understand the heterogeneity of ADHD, further explore its pathogenesis, and promote clinical interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10658985/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-023-00222-x","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Autistic traits (ATs) are frequently reported in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to examine ATs in children with ADHD from both behavioral and neuroimaging perspectives.
Methods: We used the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) to assess and define subjects with and without ATs. For behavioral analyses, 67 children with ADHD and ATs (ADHD + ATs), 105 children with ADHD but without ATs (ADHD - ATs), and 44 typically developing healthy controls without ATs (HC - ATs) were recruited. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data and analyzed the mean amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (mALFF) values (an approach used to depict different spontaneous brain activities) in a sub-sample. The imaging features that were shared between ATs and ADHD symptoms or that were unique to one or the other set of symptoms were illustrated as a way to explore the "brain-behavior" relationship.
Results: Compared to ADHD-ATs, the ADHD + ATs group showed more global impairment in all aspects of autistic symptoms and higher hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI). Partial-correlation analysis indicated that HI was significantly positively correlated with all aspects of ATs in ADHD. Imaging analyses indicated that mALFF values in the left middle occipital gyrus (MOG), left parietal lobe (PL)/precuneus, and left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) might be specifically related to ADHD, while those in the right MTG might be more closely associated with ATs. Furthermore, altered mALFF in the right PL/precuneus correlated with both ADHD and ATs, albeit in diverse directions.
Conclusions: The co-occurrence of ATs in children with ADHD manifested as different behavioral characteristics and specific brain functional alterations. Assessing ATs in children with ADHD could help us understand the heterogeneity of ADHD, further explore its pathogenesis, and promote clinical interventions.
期刊介绍:
A well-established journal in the field of behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, Behavioral and Brain Functions welcomes manuscripts which provide insight into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying behavior and brain function, or dysfunction. The journal gives priority to manuscripts that combine both neurobiology and behavior in a non-clinical manner.