Early alterations of social brain networks in young children with autism

Abstract

Abstract:‎ Social impairments are a hallmark of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but empirical evidence for early ‎brain network alterations in response to social stimuli is scant in ASD. We recorded the gaze patterns ‎and brain activity of toddlers with ASD and their typically developing peers while they explored dynamic ‎social scenes. Directed functional connectivity analyses based on electrical source imaging revealed ‎frequency specific network atypicalities in the theta and alpha frequency bands, manifesting as ‎alterations in both the driving and the connections from key nodes of the social brain associated with ‎autism. Analyses of brain-behavioural relationships within the ASD group suggested that compensatory ‎mechanisms from dorsomedial frontal, inferior temporal and insular cortical regions were associated with ‎less atypical gaze patterns and lower clinical impairment. Our results provide strong evidence that ‎directed functional connectivity alterations of social brain networks is a core component of atypical brain ‎development at early stages of ASD.‎