Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research最新文献

{"title":"Advanced Quantitative Microstructure Imaging in Autism: A Review of Methodology, Group Differences, and Associations With Developmental Outcomes.","authors":"Christy D Yoon, Douglas C Dean","doi":"10.1002/aur.70122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70122","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Emerging evidence highlights widespread alterations in white matter microstructure in autism. Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled more precise examinations of these microstructural changes, leading to increased use of quantitative MRI techniques in autism research. This review summarizes the current landscape of these techniques, focusing on methodology, group differences, developmental associations, and regional variations. Following PRISMA guidelines, 34 studies published between 2006 and 2024 that employed advanced MRI techniques were reviewed. These included diffusion MRI signal representations (diffusion kurtosis imaging [DKI] and constrained spherical deconvolution [CSD]) and biophysical models (neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging [NODDI] and white matter tract integrity [WMTI]), as well as relaxometry and magnetization transfer imaging (MTI). CSD and NODDI were the most frequently used, while MTI was the least utilized, with notable variations in acquisition parameters and processing methods across the techniques. Findings suggest relatively consistent lower values of fixel-based analysis measures (CSD) and neurite density index (NODDI) across major white matter regions, while findings from DKI, WMTI, and relaxometry varied. Measures from these techniques were associated with various developmental outcomes, including cognitive, emotional, and social behaviors. Limitations and implications are also discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145234229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hippocampal Subregion Function and Its Clinical Correlations in Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders.","authors":"Hui-Xian Li, De-Sheng Xuan, Ronghao Mu, Chi Qin, Xin Zhao","doi":"10.1002/aur.70124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70124","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The hippocampus plays a crucial role in memory and social processing, both of which are impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Investigating the functional activity of hippocampal subregions can provide valuable insights into their involvement in ASD-related social and behavioral symptoms. This study analyzed hippocampal resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in 507 male child participants from the ABIDE dataset (225 ASD, 282 typical controls) and its relation to clinical features. The hippocampus was subdivided into rostral and caudal subregions, and rsFC patterns were compared between groups. Significant group differences were observed in the left caudal, right rostral, and right caudal hippocampus, with enhanced connectivity to widespread cortical and subcortical regions, including visual, motor, parietal, and cerebellar networks. Machine learning using hippocampal rsFC achieved modest classification performance. Clinically, rsFC correlated with core ASD symptoms: social awareness was associated with right caudal connectivity to fusiform and temporal regions, while restricted and repetitive behaviors were linked to distinct rostral-caudal patterns involving frontal, motor, and cerebellar areas. Age of onset showed positive correlations with rsFC across all subregions, with rostral hippocampus engaging socioemotional and motor control networks and caudal hippocampus connecting more strongly to visual and sensorimotor integration regions. These findings demonstrate subregional specificity of hippocampal connectivity in ASD, suggesting distinct anterior-posterior contributions to symptom expression and developmental timing.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145208570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of Adulthood Outcomes in Autism Spectrum Disorder With and Without Regression: A Population-Based Birth Cohort Study.","authors":"Satoru Minami, Mitsuaki Iwasa, Hiroko Ohzono, Daimei Sasayama, Hideo Honda","doi":"10.1002/aur.70121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70121","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The long-term outcomes of regression in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain unclear. Previous evidence suggests that autistic individuals with regression have poorer adulthood outcomes across various indices than those without regression. We compared two groups-those with and without regression in ASD-among 168 participants from a population-based birth cohort study. These individuals were born in northern Yokohama, Japan, between 1988 and 1996 and were diagnosed with ASD by age seven. Participants were classified into groups based on real-time records from a community-oriented mass screening system. This study focused on four outcomes: IQ at age five, IQ in adulthood, incidence of epilepsy, and composite social ability score. None of the outcomes showed significant differences between the two groups. The standardized effect size (where a positive value favors the non-regression group) was 0.06 (95% CI: -0.08 to 0.21) for the composite social ability score, -0.16 (95% CI: -0.55 to 0.22) for IQ at age five, and -0.15 (95% CI: -0.62 to 0.33) for IQ in adulthood. The risk ratio of epilepsy in the regression group compared to the non-regression group was 0.59 (95% CI: 0.22 to 1.5). No significant differences were observed in any of the four outcomes between autistic individuals with or without regression. The confidence intervals of the effect sizes indicate that the impact of regression on IQ and psychosocial adaptation in adulthood, if present, is likely to be small to intermediate.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145151777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lower Cortical Activation and Altered Functional Connectivity Characterize Passive Auditory Spatial Attention in ASD.","authors":"Sergio Osorio, Jasmine Tan, Grace Levine, Seppo P Ahlfors, Steven Graham, Fahimeh Mamashli, Sheraz Khan, Robert M Joseph, Zein Nayal, Ainsley Losh, Stephanie Pawlyszyn, Nicole M McGuiggan, Matti S Hämäläinen, Hari Bharadwaj, Tal Kenet","doi":"10.1002/aur.70120","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70120","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition characterized by difficulties in social interaction, communication, and sensory processing. The ability to orient towards sounds is a key component of social interactions, yet auditory spatial attention remains relatively understudied in ASD, despite prior research indicating differences in this domain. Here, we investigate the neural signatures associated with passive auditory spatial attention in children with ASD (n = 21, ages 6-17) relative to age- and IQ-matched Typically Developing (TD) children (n = 31), using source-localized magnetoencephalography (MEG). Participants listened passively, while watching a silenced movie, to non-social auditory stimuli designed to either remain lateralized to one hemifield (stay trials) or to change in location from one side to the contralateral hemifield (jump trials). Linear mixed effects modeling showed lower cortical activation in the auditory cortex in the ASD group in response to jump trials, relative to the TD group. Additionally, functional connectivity analyses showed higher alpha-band functional connectivity in the ASD group between left auditory cortex seeds and right prefrontal and left parietal regions known to be recruited during auditory spatial attention. Right prefrontal alpha-band connectivity estimates were associated with behaviorally assessed auditory processing scores, whereas left parietal connectivity estimates were associated with ASD symptomatology. Our results align with the hypothesis that auditory spatial attention generally, and specifically orientation to sounds even when experienced passively, differs in ASD versus TD children.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145132914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Developmental Shift From Intrinsic Hyper- to Hypo-Connectivity Occurring at Pre-Adolescence in Autism Spectrum Disorder.","authors":"Xiaolong Shan, Ya Li, Jinming Xiao, Xiaotian Wang, Xinyue Huang, Lei Li, Yu Feng, Weixin Zhao, Huafu Chen, Xujun Duan","doi":"10.1002/aur.70117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70117","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Accumulating evidence suggests that hyper-connectivity is more characteristic of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while hypo-connectivity begins to emerge in adolescence and persists into adulthood. Despite increasing efforts being invested to explore the altered functional connectivity in ASD, the timing of the shift from intrinsic hyper-to hypo-connectivity of large-scale brain functional networks remains unclear. Here, we systematically depict the development of intrinsic functional connectivity in 800 participants from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange. We first use independent component analyses to identify the large-scale brain functional networks. Then, we utilize the locally estimated scatterplot smoothing algorithm to fit the developmental trajectory of brain functional networks. Finally, we develop a \"sliding threshold\" method to detect the age stage at which the shift from hyper- to hypo-connectivity occurs in ASD. We identify six large-scale brain functional networks, including the default mode network (DMN), fronto-parietal network (FPN), salience network (SAN), auditory network (AN), somatomotor network (SMN), and visual network (VN). We find that primary networks (AN, SMN, and VN) undergo the shift from hyper- to hypo-connectivity earlier than high-order networks (DMN, FPN, and SAN) in ASD. At pre-adolescence, the SMN, AN, VN, DMN, SAN, and FPN undergo the shift from hyper- to hypo-connectivity in sequence in ASD. Our findings shed light on the age-related changes of intrinsic functional connectivity in ASD, highlighting the need for conceptualizing functional connectivity in ASD from a developmental perspective.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145066663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differences in the Social Experiences of Autistic and Non-Autistic Adolescents by Gender.","authors":"Ellie Roberts, William Mandy, Eirini Flouri","doi":"10.1002/aur.70118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70118","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Adolescence is a time of complex social and emotional development when friendships become of particular importance. Previous research has highlighted differences in the social experience of autistic and non-autistic adolescents, as well as that of autistic girls and boys. However, no study has compared the social experiences of autistic and non-autistic adolescents, including gender differences, in a population-representative sample. Using data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), Sweep 6, we investigated differences between autistic (girls n = 111, boys n = 387) and non-autistic (girls n = 5847, boys = 5697) adolescents (mean age = 13.7 years, range = 13-15) regarding self-reports of: (i) having close friends, (ii) time spent with friends, (iii) social support, (iv) social alienation, (v) happiness with friendships, and (vi) having a romantic partner. Autistic adolescents reported having fewer close friends and spending less time with their friends. Autistic boys felt less socially supported than non-autistic adolescents, while autistic girls felt more socially alienated than all other groups considered in the study. After accounting for hyperactivity and emotional problems, all girls felt more socially alienated than boys. Only autistic boys were unhappier with friendships than non-autistic children. No group differences were found regarding romantic relationships. Some social experiences of adolescents vary greatly by both gender and diagnostic status. Further research should seek to examine the impact of these differences on mental health and well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145042504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Altered Primary Somatosensory Neuron Development in a Pten Heterozygous Model for Autism Spectrum Disorder.","authors":"Alejandra Fernandez, Nick Sarn, Charis Eng, Kevin M Wright","doi":"10.1002/aur.70119","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70119","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interactions, repetitive behaviors, and hyper- or hyposensitivity to sensory stimuli. The cellular mechanisms underlying the emergence of abnormal sensory sensitivity in ASD are not fully understood. Recent studies in rodent models of ASD identified differences in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons that convey somatosensory information to the central nervous system. However, it is unknown how ASD-associated alterations in DRG neurons emerge during development and if these phenotypes are conserved across ASD models. We examined Pten (phosphatase and tensin homolog) heterozygous mice (Pten^Het) as a model for syndromic ASD and identified altered responses to sensory stimuli. Transcriptomic and in vivo analysis identified alterations in subtype-specific markers of DRG neurons in Pten^Het mice, emerging during early DRG development and involving dysregulation of signaling pathways downstream of PTEN. Finally, we show that mice harboring an ASD-associated mutation (Pten^Y69H) show nearly identical alterations in the expression of somatosensory neuron subtype-specific markers. These results show that precise levels of PTEN are required for proper somatosensory development and provide insight into the molecular and cellular basis of sensory abnormalities in a model for syndromic ASD.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145055419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Caregiver-Mediated Early Support Program Delivered Online Versus Care-as-Usual for Infants at Elevated Familial Likelihood for Autism: A Parallel, Assessor Masked, Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial in India.","authors":"Shoba S Meera, Prathyusha Vasuki, Malavi Srikar, Reny Raju, Divya Swaminathan, Shree Volme, Rachel Elizabeth Johnson, Linda R Watson, Andrew Whitehouse, Mirko Uljarevic, Ming Wai Wan, John Vijay Sagar, Deepa Bhat Nair","doi":"10.1002/aur.70116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70116","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>LiL' STEPS (Language development & Intervention Lab's SupporTing Early social-communication and language by Promoting caregiver Sensitive responsiveness) is a novel, manualized, caregiver-mediated early support program developed in India and delivered online for infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism. The program has been found to be feasible and acceptable. The preliminary efficacy of the LiL' STEPS program, which remains to be evaluated, was assessed in this study using a feasibility randomized controlled trial design. The study was conducted at a tertiary care academic hospital in south India. Families with infants aged 9-15 months, each with an older sibling diagnosed with autism, were recruited. Thirty-six families were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to either the LiL' STEPS group (n = 24) or the care-as-usual group (CAU; n = 12) using fixed block randomization. While families in the former group received the LiL' STEPS early support program, those in the latter did not avail themselves of any early supports. Assessors were masked to group status. The primary outcome was caregiver sensitive responsiveness, assessed using the Manchester Assessment for Caregiver-Infant Interaction (MACI). Secondary outcomes included caregiver-reported measures of social communication and language. Outcomes were measured at three time points: baseline (T1), 12 weeks post-baseline (T2), and 12 weeks after program completion (T3). Intention-to-treat analyses were performed using linear mixed models. No significant treatment effects were found between baseline (T1) and endpoint (T3) on the primary or secondary outcomes. However, significant, large, positive treatment effects were observed for caregiver sensitive responsiveness (β = 1.48; 95% CI = 0.51-2.34; d = 1.15) and dyadic mutuality (β = 1.22; 95% CI = 0.03-2.15; d = 1.01) between baseline (T1) and T2, highlighting the need for ongoing support between T2 and T3-a key direction for future large scale efficacy trials.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia in Young Infants With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Preterm Birth, and Typical Development.","authors":"Jessica Bradshaw, John E Richards, Julia Yurkovic-Harding, Eilis McLaughlin","doi":"10.1002/aur.70114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70114","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a key index of parasympathetic function and environmental adaptability. Lower resting RSA has been linked to preterm (PT) birth in infancy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in childhood, yet RSA across the first 2 years in young infants born PT or later diagnosed with ASD remains unknown. This study examined resting RSA and mean interbeat interval (IBI) development from 1 to 24 months in infants at varying ASD likelihoods, including infant siblings of children with ASD and those born PT. A longitudinal design tracked resting RSA and mean IBI in 137 infants from 1 to 24 months. Infants were classified as elevated likelihood for ASD (EL), low likelihood for ASD (LL), or PT and later classified by developmental outcome as ASD, neurodivergent (ND), or typically developing (TD). Mixed-effects models examined developmental trajectories and group differences. Results indicated that both RSA and mean IBI increased across all groups from 1 to 24 months, with the most rapid growth observed in the first 6 months. PT infants exhibited lower RSA and mean IBI initially, but aligned with LL infants when age was corrected for prematurity. Infants later diagnosed with ASD showed no early RSA differences, but exhibited elevated RSA from 9 to 24 months, distinguishing them from TD and ND infants. Elevated resting RSA in ASD from 9 to 24 months may reflect reduced social monitoring, increased attentional regulation, or decreased stress during a resting period free of structured tasks. These findings contrast with lower RSA in older children with ASD, highlighting developmental shifts in autonomic function and the need for further research into RSA as an early biomarker for ASD.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Cross-Sectional Study on Narrative Microstructure in Tamil-Speaking Autistic and Non-Autistic Children.","authors":"Madhumitha Saravanaperumal, Krupa Venkatraman, Aswathy Muraleedharan","doi":"10.1002/aur.70106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70106","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Narrative skills involve retelling or generating stories, reflecting cognitive and communication development. This use of language is decontextualized and requires a fluent interplay of various components. Autistic children often demonstrate atypical language development and restricted communication tailored to specific needs. This cross-sectional study examines narrative microstructure in language-level-matched Tamil-speaking autistic children and those without autism, aged 3-5 years. Six microstructure parameters were analyzed through story-retelling and story-generation tasks to assess narrative abilities. The research included 38 Tamil-speaking children, divided based on autism diagnosis and matched for language level using standardized tests. The assessment focused on a retelling task and sequencing cards for story retelling (SR) and story generation (SG). The six microstructure variables evaluated were: total number of words (TNW), total number of utterances (TNU), mean length of utterances in words (MLU-W), mean length of utterances in morphemes (MLU-M), number of different words (NDW), and type-token ratio (TTR). The results indicated that autistic children consistently scored lower across all parameters, exhibiting difficulties with fluency and using shorter, simpler sentences. This study highlights the significance of narrative assessment in enhancing our understanding and support of language development in autistic children.</p>","PeriodicalId":72339,"journal":{"name":"Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}