Repository logo
 

Whole-brain functional hypoconnectivity as an endophenotype of autism in adolescents.


Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Moseley, RL 
Ypma, RJF 
Holt, RJ 
Floris, D 
Chura, LR 

Abstract

Endophenotypes are heritable and quantifiable markers that may assist in the identification of the complex genetic underpinnings of psychiatric conditions. Here we examined global hypoconnectivity as an endophenotype of autism spectrum conditions (ASCs). We studied well-matched groups of adolescent males with autism, genetically-related siblings of individuals with autism, and typically-developing control participants. We parcellated the brain into 258 regions and used complex-network analysis to detect a robust hypoconnectivity endophenotype in our participant group. We observed that whole-brain functional connectivity was highest in controls, intermediate in siblings, and lowest in ASC, in task and rest conditions. We identified additional, local endophenotype effects in specific networks including the visual processing and default mode networks. Our analyses are the first to show that whole-brain functional hypoconnectivity is an endophenotype of autism in adolescence, and may thus underlie the heritable similarities seen in adolescents with ASC and their relatives.

Description

Keywords

Adolescent, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Brain, Brain Mapping, Endophenotypes, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Siblings

Journal Title

Neuroimage Clin

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2213-1582
2213-1582

Volume Title

9

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (G1000183)
Medical Research Council (G0001354)
Medical Research Council (G0701919)
Wellcome Trust (093875/Z/10/Z)
The authors wish to thank the participants and their families for their participation and the autism support organisations who assisted with recruitment. We thank colleagues at the Brain Mapping Unit for methodological discussions and thank Meng-Chuan Lai, Amber Ruigrok and Richard Bethlehem for the same. Data collection was funded by a Clinical Scientist Fellowship from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) (G0701919) to MDS. LRC was supported by the Gates Cambridge Scholarship Trust. The study was conducted in associated with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for Cambridgeshire, and Peterborough National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust. The present analysis was funded by a NARSAD Young Investigator award (to MR) and by the Isaac Newton Trust (to MR); RJFY is additionally supported by a Rubicon Fellowship from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. The Brain Mapping Unit (MR, RLM, RJFY, JS and ETB) is part of the Behavioural & Clinical Neuroscience Institute, which is funded by the MRC and the Wellcome Trust. High performance computing facilities were supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.