Atypical hierarchical brain connectivity in autism: Insights from stepwise causal analysis using Liang information flow

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical brain connectivity, yet its hierarchical organization remains underexplored. In this study, we applied the Liang information flow method to analyze stepwise causal functional connectivity in ASD, offering a novel approach to understanding how different brain networks interact. Using resting-state fMRI data from ASD individuals and healthy controls, we observed significant alterations in both positive and negative causal connections across the ventral attention network, limbic network, frontal-parietal network, and default mode network. These disruptions were detected at multiple hierarchical levels, indicating changes in communication patterns across brain regions. By leveraging features of hierarchical causal connectivity, we achieved high classification accuracy between ASD and healthy individuals. Additionally, changes in network node degrees were found to correlate with ASD clinical symptoms, particularly social and communication behaviors. Our findings provide new insights into disrupted hierarchical brain connectivity in ASD and demonstrate the potential of this approach for distinguishing ASD from typical development.