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Li Y, Wu S, Xu J, Wang H, Zhu Q, Shi W, Fang Y, Jiang F, Tong S, Zhang Y, Guo X. Interbrain substrates of role switching during mother-child interaction. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26672. [PMID: 38549429 PMCID: PMC10979116 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Mother-child interaction is highly dynamic and reciprocal. Switching roles in these back-and-forth interactions serves as a crucial feature of reciprocal behaviors while the underlying neural entrainment is still not well-studied. Here, we designed a role-controlled cooperative task with dual EEG recording to explore how differently two brains interact when mothers and children hold different roles. When children were actors and mothers were observers, mother-child interbrain synchrony emerged primarily within the theta oscillations and the frontal lobe, which highly correlated with children's attachment to their mothers (self-reported by mothers). When their roles were reversed, this synchrony was shifted to the alpha oscillations and the central area and associated with mothers' perception of their relationship with their children. The results suggested an observer-actor neural alignment within the actor's oscillations, which was related to the actor-toward-observer emotional bonding. Our findings contribute to the understanding of how interbrain synchrony is established and dynamically changed during mother-child reciprocal interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamin Li
- School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
- Department of Computer ScienceVanderbilt UniversityNashvilleTennesseeUSA
| | - Saishuang Wu
- Department of Developmental and Behavioral PediatricsNational Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Affiliated to School of Medicine Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jiayang Xu
- School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Haiwa Wang
- Department of Developmental and Behavioral PediatricsNational Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Affiliated to School of Medicine Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Qi Zhu
- Department of Developmental and Behavioral PediatricsNational Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Affiliated to School of Medicine Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Wen Shi
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Yue Fang
- China Welfare Institute NurseryShanghaiChina
| | - Fan Jiang
- Department of Developmental and Behavioral PediatricsNational Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Affiliated to School of Medicine Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Shanbao Tong
- School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yunting Zhang
- Child Health Advocacy InstituteNational Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Affiliated to School of Medicine Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xiaoli Guo
- School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
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2
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Ross LA, Molholm S, Butler JS, Del Bene VA, Brima T, Foxe JJ. Neural correlates of audiovisual narrative speech perception in children and adults on the autism spectrum: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Autism Res 2024; 17:280-310. [PMID: 38334251 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Autistic individuals show substantially reduced benefit from observing visual articulations during audiovisual speech perception, a multisensory integration deficit that is particularly relevant to social communication. This has mostly been studied using simple syllabic or word-level stimuli and it remains unclear how altered lower-level multisensory integration translates to the processing of more complex natural multisensory stimulus environments in autism. Here, functional neuroimaging was used to examine neural correlates of audiovisual gain (AV-gain) in 41 autistic individuals to those of 41 age-matched non-autistic controls when presented with a complex audiovisual narrative. Participants were presented with continuous narration of a story in auditory-alone, visual-alone, and both synchronous and asynchronous audiovisual speech conditions. We hypothesized that previously identified differences in audiovisual speech processing in autism would be characterized by activation differences in brain regions well known to be associated with audiovisual enhancement in neurotypicals. However, our results did not provide evidence for altered processing of auditory alone, visual alone, audiovisual conditions or AV- gain in regions associated with the respective task when comparing activation patterns between groups. Instead, we found that autistic individuals responded with higher activations in mostly frontal regions where the activation to the experimental conditions was below baseline (de-activations) in the control group. These frontal effects were observed in both unisensory and audiovisual conditions, suggesting that these altered activations were not specific to multisensory processing but reflective of more general mechanisms such as an altered disengagement of Default Mode Network processes during the observation of the language stimulus across conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars A Ross
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - John S Butler
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Technological University Dublin, City Campus, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Victor A Del Bene
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
- Heersink School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Tufikameni Brima
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - John J Foxe
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
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3
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Kojovic N, Cekic S, Castañón SH, Franchini M, Sperdin HF, Sandini C, Jan RK, Zöller D, Ben Hadid L, Bavelier D, Schaer M. Unraveling the developmental dynamic of visual exploration of social interactions in autism. eLife 2024; 13:e85623. [PMID: 38192197 PMCID: PMC10876216 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Atypical deployment of social gaze is present early on in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Yet, studies characterizing the developmental dynamic behind it are scarce. Here, we used a data-driven method to delineate the developmental change in visual exploration of social interaction over childhood years in autism. Longitudinal eye-tracking data were acquired as children with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers freely explored a short cartoon movie. We found divergent moment-to-moment gaze patterns in children with ASD compared to their TD peers. This divergence was particularly evident in sequences that displayed social interactions between characters and even more so in children with lower developmental and functional levels. The basic visual properties of the animated scene did not account for the enhanced divergence. Over childhood years, these differences dramatically increased to become more idiosyncratic. These findings suggest that social attention should be targeted early in clinical treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Kojovic
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Sezen Cekic
- Faculte de Psychologie et Science de l’Education, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Santiago Herce Castañón
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad UniversitariaMexico CityMexico
| | | | - Holger Franz Sperdin
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Corrado Sandini
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Reem Kais Jan
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health SciencesDubaiUnited Arab Emirates
| | | | - Lylia Ben Hadid
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Daphné Bavelier
- Faculte de Psychologie et Science de l’Education, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Marie Schaer
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
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O'Reilly C, Huberty S, van Noordt S, Desjardins J, Wright N, Scorah J, Webb SJ, Elsabbagh M. EEG functional connectivity in infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism spectrum disorder. Mol Autism 2023; 14:37. [PMID: 37805500 PMCID: PMC10559476 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-023-00570-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many studies have reported that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical structural and functional connectivity. However, we know relatively little about the development of these differences in infancy. METHODS We used a high-density electroencephalogram (EEG) dataset pooled from two independent infant sibling cohorts, to characterize such neurodevelopmental deviations during the first years of life. EEG was recorded at 6 and 12 months of age in infants at typical (N = 92) or elevated likelihood for ASD (N = 90), determined by the presence of an older sibling with ASD. We computed the functional connectivity between cortical sources of EEG during video watching using the corrected imaginary part of phase-locking values. RESULTS Our main analysis found no significant association between functional connectivity and ASD, showing only significant effects for age, sex, age-sex interaction, and site. Given these null results, we performed an exploratory analysis and observed, at 12 months, a negative correlation between functional connectivity and ADOS calibrated severity scores for restrictive and repetitive behaviors (RRB). LIMITATIONS The small sample of ASD participants inherent to sibling studies limits diagnostic group comparisons. Also, results from our secondary exploratory analysis should be considered only as potential relationships to further explore, given their increased vulnerability to false positives. CONCLUSIONS These results are inconclusive concerning an association between EEG functional connectivity and ASD in infancy. Exploratory analyses provided preliminary support for a relationship between RRB and functional connectivity specifically, but these preliminary observations need corroboration on larger samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian O'Reilly
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
- Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Carolina, University of South Carolina, 1112 Greene St, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
- Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment Research Center, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
| | - Scott Huberty
- Azrieli Centre for Autism Research, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Stefon van Noordt
- Department of Psychology, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | | | - Nicky Wright
- Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | - Julie Scorah
- Azrieli Centre for Autism Research, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Mayada Elsabbagh
- Azrieli Centre for Autism Research, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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5
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Wang X, Delgado J, Marchesotti S, Kojovic N, Sperdin HF, Rihs TA, Schaer M, Giraud AL. Speech Reception in Young Children with Autism Is Selectively Indexed by a Neural Oscillation Coupling Anomaly. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6779-6795. [PMID: 37607822 PMCID: PMC10552944 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0112-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Communication difficulties are one of the core criteria in diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and are often characterized by speech reception difficulties, whose biological underpinnings are not yet identified. This deficit could denote atypical neuronal ensemble activity, as reflected by neural oscillations. Atypical cross-frequency oscillation coupling, in particular, could disrupt the joint tracking and prediction of dynamic acoustic stimuli, a dual process that is essential for speech comprehension. Whether such oscillatory anomalies already exist in very young children with ASD, and with what specificity they relate to individual language reception capacity is unknown. We collected neural activity data using electroencephalography (EEG) in 64 very young children with and without ASD (mean age 3; 17 females, 47 males) while they were exposed to naturalistic-continuous speech. EEG power of frequency bands typically associated with phrase-level chunking (δ, 1-3 Hz), phonemic encoding (low-γ, 25-35 Hz), and top-down control (β, 12-20 Hz) were markedly reduced in ASD relative to typically developing (TD) children. Speech neural tracking by δ and θ (4-8 Hz) oscillations was also weaker in ASD compared with TD children. After controlling gaze-pattern differences, we found that the classical θ/γ coupling was replaced by an atypical β/γ coupling in children with ASD. This anomaly was the single most specific predictor of individual speech reception difficulties in ASD children. These findings suggest that early interventions (e.g., neurostimulation) targeting the disruption of β/γ coupling and the upregulation of θ/γ coupling could improve speech processing coordination in young children with ASD and help them engage in oral interactions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Very young children already present marked alterations of neural oscillatory activity in response to natural speech at the time of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Hierarchical processing of phonemic-range and syllabic-range information (θ/γ coupling) is disrupted in ASD children. Abnormal bottom-up (low-γ) and top-down (low-β) coordination specifically predicts speech reception deficits in very young ASD children, and no other cognitive deficit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyue Wang
- Auditory Language Group, Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Hearing Institute, Paris, France, 75012
| | - Jaime Delgado
- Auditory Language Group, Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
| | - Silvia Marchesotti
- Auditory Language Group, Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
| | - Nada Kojovic
- Autism Brain & Behavior Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
| | - Holger Franz Sperdin
- Autism Brain & Behavior Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
| | - Tonia A Rihs
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
| | - Marie Schaer
- Autism Brain & Behavior Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
| | - Anne-Lise Giraud
- Auditory Language Group, Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 1202
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Hearing Institute, Paris, France, 75012
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6
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Ćirović M, Jeličić L, Maksimović S, Fatić S, Marisavljević M, Bošković Matić T, Subotić M. EEG Correlates of Cognitive Functions in a Child with ASD and White Matter Signal Abnormalities: A Case Report with Two-and-a-Half-Year Follow-Up. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:2878. [PMID: 37761245 PMCID: PMC10529253 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13182878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
This research aimed to examine the EEG correlates of different stimuli processing instances in a child with ASD and white matter signal abnormalities and to investigate their relationship to the results of behavioral tests. The prospective case study reports two and a half years of follow-up data from a child aged 38 to 66 months. Cognitive, speech-language, sensory, and EEG correlates of auditory-verbal and auditory-visual-verbal information processing were recorded during five test periods, and their mutual interrelation was analyzed. EEG findings revealed no functional theta frequency range redistribution in the frontal regions favoring the left hemisphere during speech processing. The results pointed to a positive linear trend in the relative theta frequency range and a negative linear trend in the relative alpha frequency range when listening to and watching the cartoon. There was a statistically significant correlation between EEG signals and behavioral test results. Based on the obtained results, it may be concluded that EEG signals and their association with the results of behavioral tests should be evaluated with certain restraints considering the characteristics of the stimuli during EEG recording.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milica Ćirović
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Institute”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (M.Ć.); (S.M.); (S.F.); (M.M.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ljiljana Jeličić
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Institute”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (M.Ć.); (S.M.); (S.F.); (M.M.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Slavica Maksimović
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Institute”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (M.Ć.); (S.M.); (S.F.); (M.M.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Saška Fatić
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Institute”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (M.Ć.); (S.M.); (S.F.); (M.M.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Maša Marisavljević
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Institute”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (M.Ć.); (S.M.); (S.F.); (M.M.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Tatjana Bošković Matić
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia;
- Clinic of Neurology, University Clinical Centre of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
| | - Miško Subotić
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Institute”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (M.Ć.); (S.M.); (S.F.); (M.M.); (M.S.)
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7
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Gaudfernau F, Lefebvre A, Engemann DA, Pedoux A, Bánki A, Baillin F, Landman B, Maruani A, Amsellem F, Bourgeron T, Delorme R, Dumas G. Cortico-Cerebellar neurodynamics during social interaction in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 39:103465. [PMID: 37454469 PMCID: PMC10368923 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exploring neural network dynamics during social interaction could help to identify biomarkers of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). A cerebellar involvement in autism has long been suspected and recent methodological advances now enable studying cerebellar functioning in a naturalistic setting. Here, we investigated the electrophysiological activity of the cerebro-cerebellar network during real-time social interaction in ASD. We focused our analysis on theta oscillations (3-8 Hz), which have been associated with large-scale coordination of distant brain areas and might contribute to interoception, motor control, and social event anticipation, all skills known to be altered in ASD. METHODS We combined the Human Dynamic Clamp, a paradigm for studying realistic social interactions using a virtual avatar, with high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG). Using source reconstruction, we investigated power in the cortex and the cerebellum, along with coherence between the cerebellum and three cerebral-cortical areas, and compared our findings in a sample of participants with ASD (n = 107) and with typical development (TD) (n = 33). We developed an open-source pipeline to analyse neural dynamics at the source level from HD-EEG data. RESULTS Individuals with ASD showed a significant increase in theta band power over the cerebellum and the frontal and temporal cortices during social interaction compared to resting state, along with significant coherence increases between the cerebellum and the sensorimotor, frontal and parietal cortices. However, a phase-based connectivity measure did not support a strict activity increase in the cortico-cerebellar functional network. We did not find any significant differences between the ASD and the TD group. CONCLUSIONS This exploratory study uncovered increases in the theta band activity of participants with ASD during social interaction, pointing at the presence of neural interactions between the cerebellum and cerebral networks associated with social cognition. It also emphasizes the need for complementary functional connectivity measures to capture network-level alterations. Future work will focus on optimizing artifact correction to include more participants with TD and increase the statistical power of group-level contrasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fleur Gaudfernau
- Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR 3571 CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Paris, France; Inria, HeKA, PariSantéCampus, Paris, France; Inserm, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Aline Lefebvre
- Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR 3571 CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Paris, France; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France
| | - Denis-Alexander Engemann
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Neuroscience and Rare Diseases, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland; Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, France
| | - Amandine Pedoux
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France
| | - Anna Bánki
- Research Unit Developmental Psychology, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Florence Baillin
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France
| | - Benjamin Landman
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France
| | - Anna Maruani
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France
| | - Frederique Amsellem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Bourgeron
- Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR 3571 CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Paris, France
| | - Richard Delorme
- Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR 3571 CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Paris, France; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Dumas
- Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR 3571 CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Paris, France; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada; Precision Psychiatry and Social Physiology laboratory, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
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8
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Fu D, Abawi F, Carneiro H, Kerzel M, Chen Z, Strahl E, Liu X, Wermter S. A Trained Humanoid Robot can Perform Human-Like Crossmodal Social Attention and Conflict Resolution. Int J Soc Robot 2023; 15:1-16. [PMID: 37359433 PMCID: PMC10067521 DOI: 10.1007/s12369-023-00993-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
To enhance human-robot social interaction, it is essential for robots to process multiple social cues in a complex real-world environment. However, incongruency of input information across modalities is inevitable and could be challenging for robots to process. To tackle this challenge, our study adopted the neurorobotic paradigm of crossmodal conflict resolution to make a robot express human-like social attention. A behavioural experiment was conducted on 37 participants for the human study. We designed a round-table meeting scenario with three animated avatars to improve ecological validity. Each avatar wore a medical mask to obscure the facial cues of the nose, mouth, and jaw. The central avatar shifted its eye gaze while the peripheral avatars generated sound. Gaze direction and sound locations were either spatially congruent or incongruent. We observed that the central avatar's dynamic gaze could trigger crossmodal social attention responses. In particular, human performance was better under the congruent audio-visual condition than the incongruent condition. Our saliency prediction model was trained to detect social cues, predict audio-visual saliency, and attend selectively for the robot study. After mounting the trained model on the iCub, the robot was exposed to laboratory conditions similar to the human experiment. While the human performance was overall superior, our trained model demonstrated that it could replicate attention responses similar to humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Fu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Fares Abawi
- Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hugo Carneiro
- Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Kerzel
- Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ziwei Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Erik Strahl
- Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Xun Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Stefan Wermter
- Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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9
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Juarez-Martinez EL, Sprengers JJ, Cristian G, Oranje B, van Andel DM, Avramiea AE, Simpraga S, Houtman SJ, Hardstone R, Gerver C, Jan van der Wilt G, Mansvelder HD, Eijkemans MJC, Linkenkaer-Hansen K, Bruining H. Prediction of Behavioral Improvement Through Resting-State Electroencephalography and Clinical Severity in a Randomized Controlled Trial Testing Bumetanide in Autism Spectrum Disorder. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:251-261. [PMID: 34506972 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mechanism-based treatments such as bumetanide are being repurposed for autism spectrum disorder. We recently reported beneficial effects on repetitive behavioral symptoms that might be related to regulating excitation-inhibition (E/I) balance in the brain. Here, we tested the neurophysiological effects of bumetanide and the relationship to clinical outcome variability and investigated the potential for machine learning-based predictions of meaningful clinical improvement. METHODS Using modified linear mixed models applied to intention-to-treat population, we analyzed E/I-sensitive electroencephalography (EEG) measures before and after 91 days of treatment in the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Bumetanide in Autism Medication and Biomarker study. Resting-state EEG of 82 subjects out of 92 participants (7-15 years) were available. Alpha frequency band absolute and relative power, central frequency, long-range temporal correlations, and functional E/I ratio treatment effects were related to the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) and the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 as clinical outcomes. RESULTS We observed superior bumetanide effects on EEG, reflected in increased absolute and relative alpha power and functional E/I ratio and in decreased central frequency. Associations between EEG and clinical outcome change were restricted to subgroups with medium to high RBS-R improvement. Using machine learning, medium and high RBS-R improvement could be predicted by baseline RBS-R score and EEG measures with 80% and 92% accuracy, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Bumetanide exerts neurophysiological effects related to clinical changes in more responsive subsets, in whom prediction of improvement was feasible through EEG and clinical measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika L Juarez-Martinez
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; NBT Analytics BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychosocial Care, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jan J Sprengers
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Gianina Cristian
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychosocial Care, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Bob Oranje
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Dorinde M van Andel
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Arthur-Ervin Avramiea
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sonja Simpraga
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; NBT Analytics BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Simon J Houtman
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Richard Hardstone
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Cathalijn Gerver
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychosocial Care, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; N=You Neurodevelopmental Precision Center, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam Reproduction and Development, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gert Jan van der Wilt
- Department of Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Huibert D Mansvelder
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marinus J C Eijkemans
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Biostatistics & Research Support, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Hilgo Bruining
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychosocial Care, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; N=You Neurodevelopmental Precision Center, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam Reproduction and Development, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Levvel, Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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10
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Robain F, Godel M, Kojovic N, Franchini M, Journal F, Schaer M. Measuring social orienting in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder using cartoons stimuli. J Psychiatr Res 2022; 156:398-405. [PMID: 36323142 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.10.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Altered social orienting (SO) was proposed as the primary source of socio-communicative difficulties in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eye-tracking studies generally confirm a decreased SO in ASD population. However, SO has been scarcely investigated using minimally social stimuli such as cartoons. The extent to which SO might be decreased when watching cartoons is therefore unknown. Yet, it could allow for malleable and child-friendly paradigms that could be sensitive to early atypical visual preference. In this study, 90 preschoolers with ASD (age = 3.19 ± 0 .88) and 20 TD (age = 2.95 ± 1.26) watched two eye-tracking preference tasks. One Realistic task, displaying children dancing versus geometric shapes moving repetitively and a Cartoon task, displaying social and non-social cartoon stimuli with similar movements. We measured SO percentage along with refined visual exploration parameters and compared those of ASD children to TDs. In addition, we investigated their relations with behavioral measures such as symptom severity, developmental and adaptive levels. We evidenced a decreased SO percentage in ASD compared to TD children when watching the Realistic task but not the Cartoon task. We did not identify any other between groups differences. However, we identified several correlations between eye-tracking measures and developmental as well as adaptive measures within the Cartoon task. Together, our results support a preferential orientation of children with autism towards repetitively moving shapes but no decreased SO when measured with minimally social stimuli. Nonetheless, when investigating finer visual exploration parameters, even socially simple stimuli elicited atypical gaze patterns related to early developmental delay.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Robain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Michel Godel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; Fondation Pôle Autisme, Unité de Recherche, 4 place du Cirque, 1204, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nada Kojovic
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Martina Franchini
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; Fondation Pôle Autisme, Unité de Recherche, 4 place du Cirque, 1204, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Fiona Journal
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; Fondation Pôle Autisme, Unité de Recherche, 4 place du Cirque, 1204, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marie Schaer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; Fondation Pôle Autisme, Unité de Recherche, 4 place du Cirque, 1204, Geneva, Switzerland
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11
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Haartsen R, Charman T, Pasco G, Johnson MH, Jones EJH. Modulation of EEG theta by naturalistic social content is not altered in infants with family history of autism. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20758. [PMID: 36456597 PMCID: PMC9715667 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24870-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Theta oscillations (spectral power and connectivity) are sensitive to the social content of an experience in typically developing infants, providing a possible marker of early social brain development. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting early social behaviour, but links to underlying social brain function remain unclear. We explored whether modulations of theta spectral power and connectivity by naturalistic social content in infancy are related to family history for autism. Fourteen-month-old infants with (family history; FH; N = 75) and without (no family history; NFH; N = 26) a first-degree relative with autism watched social and non-social videos during EEG recording. We calculated theta (4-5 Hz) spectral power and connectivity modulations (social-non-social) and associated them with outcomes at 36 months. We replicated previous findings of increased theta power and connectivity during social compared to non-social videos. Theta modulations with social content were similar between groups, for both power and connectivity. Together, these findings suggest that neural responses to naturalistic social stimuli may not be strongly altered in 14-month-old infants with family history of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rianne Haartsen
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
- ToddlerLab, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
| | - Tony Charman
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3BX, UK
| | - Greg Pasco
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Mark H Johnson
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Emily J H Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
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12
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Chen Y, Allison O, Green HL, Kuschner ES, Liu S, Kim M, Slinger M, Mol K, Chiang T, Bloy L, Roberts TPL, Edgar JC. Maturational trajectory of fusiform gyrus neural activity when viewing faces: From 4 months to 4 years old. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:917851. [PMID: 36034116 PMCID: PMC9411513 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.917851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Infant and young child electrophysiology studies have provided information regarding the maturation of face-encoding neural processes. A limitation of previous research is that very few studies have examined face-encoding processes in children 12-48 months of age, a developmental period characterized by rapid changes in the ability to encode facial information. The present study sought to fill this gap in the literature via a longitudinal study examining the maturation of a primary node in the face-encoding network-the left and right fusiform gyrus (FFG). Whole-brain magnetoencephalography (MEG) data were obtained from 25 infants with typical development at 4-12 months, and with follow-up MEG exams every ∼12 months until 3-4 years old. Children were presented with color images of Face stimuli and visual noise images (matched on spatial frequency, color distribution, and outer contour) that served as Non-Face stimuli. Using distributed source modeling, left and right face-sensitive FFG evoked waveforms were obtained from each child at each visit, with face-sensitive activity identified via examining the difference between the Non-Face and Face FFG timecourses. Before 24 months of age (Visits 1 and 2) the face-sensitive FFG M290 response was the dominant response, observed in the left and right FFG ∼250-450 ms post-stimulus. By 3-4 years old (Visit 4), the left and right face-sensitive FFG response occurred at a latency consistent with a face-sensitive M170 response ∼100-250 ms post-stimulus. Face-sensitive left and right FFG peak latencies decreased as a function of age (with age explaining greater than 70% of the variance in face-sensitive FFG latency), and with an adult-like FFG latency observed at 3-4 years old. Study findings thus showed face-sensitive FFG maturational changes across the first 4 years of life. Whereas a face-sensitive M290 response was observed under 2 years of age, by 3-4 years old, an adult-like face-sensitive M170 response was observed bilaterally. Future studies evaluating the maturation of face-sensitive FFG activity in infants at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders are of interest, with the present findings suggesting age-specific face-sensitive neural markers of a priori interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhan Chen
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Olivia Allison
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Heather L. Green
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Emily S. Kuschner
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Song Liu
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Mina Kim
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Michelle Slinger
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Kylie Mol
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Taylor Chiang
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Luke Bloy
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Timothy P. L. Roberts
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - J. Christopher Edgar
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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13
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Rochat MJ, Gallese V. The Blurred Vital Contours of Intersubjectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Early Signs and Neurophysiological Hypotheses. PSYCHOANALYTIC INQUIRY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/07351690.2022.2007022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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14
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Liu S, Chen S, Huang Z, Liu X, Li M, Su F, Hao X, Ming D. Hypofunction of directed brain network within alpha frequency band in depressive patients: a graph-theoretic analysis. Cogn Neurodyn 2022; 16:1059-1071. [PMID: 36237415 PMCID: PMC9508312 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-022-09782-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 12/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Directed brain networks may provide new insights into exploring physiological mechanism and neuromarkers for depression. This study aims to investigate the abnormalities of directed brain networks in depressive patients. We constructed the directed brain network based on resting electroencephalogram for 19 depressive patients and 20 healthy controls with eyes closed and eyes open. The weighted directed brain connectivity was measured by partial directed coherence for α, β, γ frequency band. Furthermore, topological parameters (clustering coefficient, characteristic path length, and et al.) were computed based on graph theory. The correlation between network metrics and clinical symptom was also examined. Depressive patients had a significantly weaker value of partial directed coherence at alpha frequency band in eyes-closed state. Clustering coefficient and characteristic path length were significantly lower in depressive patients (both p < .01). More importantly, in depressive patients, disruption of directed connectivity was noted in left-to-left (p < .05), right-to-left (p < .01) hemispheres and frontal-to-central (p < .01), parietal-to-central (p < .05), occipital-to-central (p < .05) regions. Furthermore, connectivity in LL and RL hemispheres was negatively correlated with depression scale scores (both p < .05). Depressive patients showed a more randomized network structure, disturbed directed interaction of left-to-left, right-to-left hemispheric information and between different cerebral regions. Specifically, left-to-left, right-to-left hemispheric connectivity was negatively correlated with the severity of depression. Our analysis may serve as a potential neuromarker of depression.
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15
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Pittet I, Kojovic N, Franchini M, Schaer M. Trajectories of imitation skills in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders. J Neurodev Disord 2022; 14:2. [PMID: 34986807 PMCID: PMC8903579 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-021-09412-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Imitation skills play a crucial role in social cognitive development from early childhood. Many studies have shown a deficit in imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Little is known about the development of imitation behaviors in children with ASD. This study aims to measure the trajectories of early imitation skills in preschoolers with ASD and how these skills impact other areas of early development. Methods For this purpose, we assessed imitation, language, and cognition skills in 177 children with ASD and 43 typically developing children (TD) aged 2 to 5 years old, 126 of which were followed longitudinally, yielding a total of 396 time points. Results Our results confirmed the presence of an early imitation deficit in toddlers with ASD compared to TD children. The study of the trajectories showed that these difficulties were marked at the age of 2 years and gradually decreased until the age of 5 years old. Imitation skills were strongly linked with cognitive and language skills and level of symptoms in our ASD group at baseline. Moreover, the imitation skills at baseline were predictive of the language gains a year later in our ASD group. Using a data-driven clustering method, we delineated different developmental trajectories of imitation skills within the ASD group. Conclusions The clinical implications of the findings are discussed, particularly the impact of an early imitation deficit on other areas of competence of the young child. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s11689-021-09412-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irène Pittet
- Autism Brain and Behavior (ABB) Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Nada Kojovic
- Autism Brain and Behavior (ABB) Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Marie Schaer
- Autism Brain and Behavior (ABB) Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Fondation Pôle Autisme, Geneva, Switzerland
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16
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Tzanoulinou S, Musardo S, Contestabile A, Bariselli S, Casarotto G, Magrinelli E, Jiang YH, Jabaudon D, Bellone C. Inhibition of Trpv4 rescues circuit and social deficits unmasked by acute inflammatory response in a Shank3 mouse model of Autism. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:2080-2094. [PMID: 35022531 PMCID: PMC9126815 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01427-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the SHANK3 gene have been recognized as a genetic risk factor for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disease characterized by social deficits and repetitive behaviors. While heterozygous SHANK3 mutations are usually the types of mutations associated with idiopathic autism in patients, heterozygous deletion of Shank3 gene in mice does not commonly induce ASD-related behavioral deficit. Here, we used in-vivo and ex-vivo approaches to demonstrate that region-specific neonatal downregulation of Shank3 in the Nucleus Accumbens promotes D1R-medium spiny neurons (D1R-MSNs) hyperexcitability and upregulates Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (Trpv4) to impair social behavior. Interestingly, genetically vulnerable Shank3+/- mice, when challenged with Lipopolysaccharide to induce an acute inflammatory response, showed similar circuit and behavioral alterations that were rescued by acute Trpv4 inhibition. Altogether our data demonstrate shared molecular and circuit mechanisms between ASD-relevant genetic alterations and environmental insults, which ultimately lead to sociability dysfunctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stamatina Tzanoulinou
- grid.8591.50000 0001 2322 4988Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland ,grid.9851.50000 0001 2165 4204Present Address: Department of Biomedical Sciences (DSB), FBM, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Musardo
- grid.8591.50000 0001 2322 4988Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Contestabile
- grid.8591.50000 0001 2322 4988Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sebastiano Bariselli
- grid.8591.50000 0001 2322 4988Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Giulia Casarotto
- grid.8591.50000 0001 2322 4988Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Elia Magrinelli
- grid.8591.50000 0001 2322 4988Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Yong-hui Jiang
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
| | - Denis Jabaudon
- grid.8591.50000 0001 2322 4988Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Camilla Bellone
- Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
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17
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Aykan S, Puglia MH, Kalaycıoğlu C, Pelphrey KA, Tuncalı T, Nalçacı E. Right Anterior Theta Hypersynchrony as a Quantitative Measure Associated with Autistic Traits and K-Cl Cotransporter KCC2 Polymorphism. J Autism Dev Disord 2022; 52:61-72. [PMID: 33635423 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04924-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Our aim was to use theta coherence as a quantitative trait to investigate the relation of the polymorphisms in NKCC1 (rs3087889) and KCC2 (rs9074) channel protein genes to autistic traits (AQ) in neurotypicals. Coherence values for candidate connection regions were calculated from eyes-closed resting EEGs in two independent groups. Hypersynchrony within the right anterior region was related to AQ in both groups (p < 0.05), and variability in this hypersynchrony was related to the rs9074 polymorphism in the total group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, theta hypersynchrony within the right anterior region during eyes-closed rest can be considered a quantitative measure for autistic traits. Replicating our findings in two independent populations with different backgrounds strengthens the validity of the current study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simge Aykan
- Department of Physiology, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
| | - Meghan H Puglia
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Canan Kalaycıoğlu
- Department of Physiology, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Timur Tuncalı
- Department of Medical Genetics, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Erhan Nalçacı
- Department of Physiology, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
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18
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Bochet A, Sperdin HF, Rihs TA, Kojovic N, Franchini M, Jan RK, Michel CM, Schaer M. Early alterations of large-scale brain networks temporal dynamics in young children with autism. Commun Biol 2021; 4:968. [PMID: 34400754 PMCID: PMC8367954 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02494-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with disruption of large-scale brain network. Recently, we found that directed functional connectivity alterations of social brain networks are a core component of atypical brain development at early developmental stages in ASD. Here, we investigated the spatio-temporal dynamics of whole-brain neuronal networks at a subsecond scale in 113 toddlers and preschoolers (66 with ASD) using an EEG microstate approach. We first determined the predominant microstates using established clustering methods. We identified five predominant microstate (labeled as microstate classes A-E) with significant differences in the temporal dynamics of microstate class B between the groups in terms of increased appearance and prolonged duration. Using Markov chains, we found differences in the dynamic syntax between several maps in toddlers and preschoolers with ASD compared to their TD peers. Finally, exploratory analysis of brain-behavioral relationships within the ASD group suggested that the temporal dynamics of some maps were related to conditions comorbid to ASD during early developmental stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélie Bochet
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | | | - Tonia Anahi Rihs
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nada Kojovic
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Reem Kais Jan
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Christoph Martin Michel
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marie Schaer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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19
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Haghighat H, Mirzarezaee M, Araabi BN, Khadem A. Functional Networks Abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Age-Related Hypo and Hyper Connectivity. Brain Topogr 2021; 34:306-322. [PMID: 33905003 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-021-00831-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by defects in social interaction. The past functional connectivity studies using resting-state fMRI have found both patterns of hypo-connectivity and hyper-connectivity in ASD and proposed the age as an important factor on functional connectivity disorders. However, this influence is not clearly characterized yet. Previous studies have often examined the functional connectivity disorders in particular brain regions in an age group or a mixture of age groups. The present study compares whole-brain within-connectivity and between-connectivity between ASD individuals and typically developing (TD) controls in three age groups including children (< 11 years), adolescents (11-18 years), and adults (> 18 years), each comprising 21 ASD individuals and 21 TD controls. The age groups were matched for age, Full IQ, and gender. Independent component analysis and dual regression were used to investigate within-connectivity. The full and partial correlations between ICs were used to investigate between-connectivity. Examination of the within-connectivity showed hyper-connectivity, especially in cerebellum and brainstem in ASD children but both hyper/hypo connectivity in adolescents and ASD adults. In ASD children, difference in the between-connectivity among default mode network (DMN), salience-executive network and fronto-parietal network were observed. There was also a negative correlation between DMN and temporal network. Full correlation comparison between ASD adolescents and TD individuals showed significant differences between cerebellum and DMN. Our results supported just the hyper-connectivity in childhood, but both hypo and hyper-connectivity after childhood and hypothesized that abnormal resting connections in ASD exist in the regions of the brain known to be involved in social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Haghighat
- Department of Computer Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mitra Mirzarezaee
- Department of Computer Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Babak Nadjar Araabi
- Control and Intelligent Processing Center of Excellence, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Khadem
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
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20
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Robain F, Kojovic N, Solazzo S, Glaser B, Franchini M, Schaer M. The impact of social complexity on the visual exploration of others' actions in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. BMC Psychol 2021; 9:50. [PMID: 33789770 PMCID: PMC8011208 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-021-00553-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Typical development of socio-communicative skills relies on keen observation of others. It thus follows that decreased social attention negatively impacts the subsequent development of socio-communicative abilities in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In addition, studies indicate that social attention is modulated by context and that greater social difficulties are observed in more socially demanding situations. Our study aims to investigate the effect of social complexity on visual exploration of others' actions in preschoolers. METHODS To investigate the impact of social complexity, we used an eye-tracking paradigm with 26 typically developing preschoolers (TD, age = 3.60 ± 1.55) and 37 preschoolers with ASD (age = 3.55 ± 1.21). Participants were shown videos of two children engaging in socially simple play (parallel) versus socially complex play (interactive). We subsequently quantified the time spent and fixation duration on faces, objects, bodies, as well as the background and the number of spontaneous gaze shifts between socially relevant areas of interest. RESULTS In the ASD group, we observed decreased time spent on faces. Social complexity (interactive play) elicited changes in visual exploration patterns in both groups. From the parallel to the interactive condition, we observed a shift towards socially relevant parts of the scene, a decrease in fixation duration, as well as an increase in spontaneous gaze shifts between faces and objects though there were fewer in the ASD group. LIMITATIONS Our results need to be interpreted cautiously due to relatively small sample sizes and may be relevant to male preschoolers, given our male-only sample and reported phenotypic differences between males and females. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that similar to TD children, though to a lesser extent, visual exploration patterns in ASD are modulated by context. Children with ASD that were less sensitive to context modulation showed decreased socio-communicative skills or higher levels of symptoms. Our findings support using naturalistic designs to capture socio-communicative deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Robain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland. .,Fondation Pôle Autisme, Unité de Recherche, 4 place du Cirque, 1204, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - N Kojovic
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - S Solazzo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - B Glaser
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - M Franchini
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.,Fondation Pôle Autisme, Unité de Recherche, 4 place du Cirque, 1204, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - M Schaer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.,Fondation Pôle Autisme, Unité de Recherche, 4 place du Cirque, 1204, Geneva, Switzerland
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21
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Tan G, Xu K, Liu J, Liu H. A Trend on Autism Spectrum Disorder Research: Eye Tracking-EEG Correlative Analytics. IEEE Trans Cogn Dev Syst 2021. [DOI: 10.1109/tcds.2021.3102646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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22
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Nested oscillations and brain connectivity during sequential stages of feature-based attention. Neuroimage 2020; 223:117354. [PMID: 32916284 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain mechanisms of visual selective attention involve both local and network-level activity changes at specific oscillatory rhythms, but their interplay remains poorly explored. Here, we investigate anticipatory and reactive effects of feature-based attention using separate fMRI and EEG recordings, while participants attended to one of two spatially overlapping visual features (motion and orientation). We focused on EEG source analysis of local neuronal rhythms and nested oscillations and on graph analysis of connectivity changes in a network of fMRI-defined regions of interest, and characterized a cascade of attentional effects at multiple spatial scales. We discuss how the results may reconcile several theories of selective attention, by showing how β rhythms support anticipatory information routing through increased network efficiency, while reactive α-band desynchronization patterns and increased α-γ coupling in task-specific sensory areas mediate stimulus-evoked processing of task-relevant signals.
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23
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Altered directed functional connectivity of the right amygdala in depression: high-density EEG study. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4398. [PMID: 32157152 PMCID: PMC7064485 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61264-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The cortico-striatal-pallidal-thalamic and limbic circuits are suggested to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of depression. Stimulation of deep brain targets might improve symptoms in treatment-resistant depression. However, a better understanding of connectivity properties of deep brain structures potentially implicated in deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment is needed. Using high-density EEG, we explored the directed functional connectivity at rest in 25 healthy subjects and 26 patients with moderate to severe depression within the bipolar affective disorder, depressive episode, and recurrent depressive disorder. We computed the Partial Directed Coherence on the source EEG signals focusing on the amygdala, anterior cingulate, putamen, pallidum, caudate, and thalamus. The global efficiency for the whole brain and the local efficiency, clustering coefficient, outflow, and strength for the selected structures were calculated. In the right amygdala, all the network metrics were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in patients than in controls. The global efficiency was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in patients than in controls, showed no correlation with status of depression, but decreased with increasing medication intake (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$${{\bf{R}}}^{{\bf{2}}}{\boldsymbol{=}}{\bf{0.59}}\,{\bf{and}}\,{\bf{p}}{\boldsymbol{=}}{\bf{1.52}}{\bf{e}}{\boldsymbol{ \mbox{-} }}{\bf{05}}$$\end{document}R2=0.59andp=1.52e‐05). The amygdala seems to play an important role in neurobiology of depression. Practical treatment studies would be necessary to assess the amygdala as a potential future DBS target for treating depression.
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24
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Kojovic N, Ben Hadid L, Franchini M, Schaer M. Sensory Processing Issues and Their Association with Social Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Clin Med 2019; 8:E1508. [PMID: 31547076 PMCID: PMC6833094 DOI: 10.3390/jcm8101508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory processing issues have been frequently reported in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but their relationship with social and overall adaptive functioning has not been extensively characterized to date. Here, we investigate how sensory processing atypicalities relate with deficits in social skills, impaired social cognition, and general adaptive functioning in a group of preschoolers with ASD. Sixty-four children with ASD aged 3 to 6 were included in this study, along with 36 age-matched typically-developing (TD) peers. Parent-reported measures of sensory processing, social difficulties and overall adaptive functioning were collected for all children. We also obtained precise measures of social attention deployment using a custom-design eye-tracking task depicting naturalistic social scenes. Within the group of children with ASD, higher intensities of sensory issues were associated with more prominent social difficulties and lower adaptive functioning. We also found that children with ASD who had more sensory issues showed visual exploration patterns of social scenes that strongly deviated from the one seen in the TD group. The association of sensory processing atypicalities with "higher-order" functional domains such as social and adaptive functioning in children with ASD stresses the importance of further research on sensory symptoms in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Kojovic
- University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland (M.S.)
| | | | | | - Marie Schaer
- University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland (M.S.)
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25
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Jan RK, Rihs TA, Kojovic N, Sperdin HF, Franchini M, Custo A, Tomescu MI, Michel CM, Schaer M. Neural Processing of Dynamic Animated Social Interactions in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A High-Density Electroencephalography Study. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:582. [PMID: 31507462 PMCID: PMC6714589 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Atypical neural processing of social visual information contributes to impaired social cognition in autism spectrum disorder. However, evidence for early developmental alterations in neural processing of social contingencies is scarce. Most studies in the literature have been conducted in older children and adults. Here, we aimed to investigate alterations in neural processing of social visual information in children with autism spectrum disorder compared to age-matched typically developing peers. Methods: We used a combination of 129-channel electroencephalography and high-resolution eye-tracking to study differences in the neural processing of dynamic cartoons containing human-like social interactions between 14 male children with autism spectrum disorder and 14 typically developing male children, aged 2-5 years. Using a microstate approach, we identified four prototypical maps in both groups and compared the temporal characteristics and inverse solutions (activation of neural sources) of these maps between groups. Results: Inverse solutions of the group maps that were most dominant during free viewing of the dynamic cartoons indicated decreased prefrontal and cingulate activation, impaired activation of the premotor cortex, and increased activation of parietal, temporal, occipital, and cerebellar regions in children with autism spectrum disorder compared to their typically developing peers. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that impairments in brain regions involved in processing social contingencies embedded in dynamic cartoons are present from an early age in autism spectrum disorder. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate neural processing of social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder using dynamic semi-naturalistic stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reem K Jan
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.,Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Tonia A Rihs
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nada Kojovic
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Holger F Sperdin
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Martina Franchini
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Anna Custo
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Miralena I Tomescu
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Christoph M Michel
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marie Schaer
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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26
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Rubega M, Carboni M, Seeber M, Pascucci D, Tourbier S, Toscano G, Van Mierlo P, Hagmann P, Plomp G, Vulliemoz S, Michel CM. Estimating EEG Source Dipole Orientation Based on Singular-value Decomposition for Connectivity Analysis. Brain Topogr 2018; 32:704-719. [PMID: 30511174 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-018-0691-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In the last decade, the use of high-density electrode arrays for EEG recordings combined with the improvements of source reconstruction algorithms has allowed the investigation of brain networks dynamics at a sub-second scale. One powerful tool for investigating large-scale functional brain networks with EEG is time-varying effective connectivity applied to source signals obtained from electric source imaging. Due to computational and interpretation limitations, the brain is usually parcelled into a limited number of regions of interests (ROIs) before computing EEG connectivity. One specific need and still open problem is how to represent the time- and frequency-content carried by hundreds of dipoles with diverging orientation in each ROI with one unique representative time-series. The main aim of this paper is to provide a method to compute a signal that explains most of the variability of the data contained in each ROI before computing, for instance, time-varying connectivity. As the representative time-series for a ROI, we propose to use the first singular vector computed by a singular-value decomposition of all dipoles belonging to the same ROI. We applied this method to two real datasets (visual evoked potentials and epileptic spikes) and evaluated the time-course and the frequency content of the obtained signals. For each ROI, both the time-course and the frequency content of the proposed method reflected the expected time-course and the scalp-EEG frequency content, representing most of the variability of the sources (~ 80%) and improving connectivity results in comparison to other procedures used so far. We also confirm these results in a simulated dataset with a known ground truth.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Rubega
- Functional Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - M Carboni
- Functional Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.,EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - M Seeber
- Functional Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - D Pascucci
- Perceptual Networks Group, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - S Tourbier
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - G Toscano
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Unit of Sleep Medicine and Epilepsy, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
| | - P Van Mierlo
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Medical Image and Signal Processing Group, Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - P Hagmann
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - G Plomp
- Perceptual Networks Group, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - S Vulliemoz
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - C M Michel
- Functional Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.,Lemanic Biomedical Imaging Centre (CIBM), Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
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27
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Simões M, Monteiro R, Andrade J, Mouga S, França F, Oliveira G, Carvalho P, Castelo-Branco M. A Novel Biomarker of Compensatory Recruitment of Face Emotional Imagery Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:791. [PMID: 30443204 PMCID: PMC6221955 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Imagery of facial expressions in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is likely impaired but has been very difficult to capture at a neurophysiological level. We developed an approach that allowed to directly link observation of emotional expressions and imagery in ASD, and to derive biomarkers that are able to classify abnormal imagery in ASD. To provide a handle between perception and action imagery cycles it is important to use visual stimuli exploring the dynamical nature of emotion representation. We conducted a case-control study providing a link between both visualization and mental imagery of dynamic facial expressions and investigated source responses to pure face-expression contrasts. We were able to replicate the same highly group discriminative neural signatures during action observation (dynamical face expressions) and imagery, in the precuneus. Larger activation in regions involved in imagery for the ASD group suggests that this effect is compensatory. We conducted a machine learning procedure to automatically identify these group differences, based on the EEG activity during mental imagery of facial expressions. We compared two classifiers and achieved an accuracy of 81% using 15 features (both linear and non-linear) of the signal from theta, high-beta and gamma bands extracted from right-parietal locations (matching the precuneus region), further confirming the findings regarding standard statistical analysis. This robust classification of signals resulting from imagery of dynamical expressions in ASD is surprising because it far and significantly exceeds the good classification already achieved with observation of neutral face expressions (74%). This novel neural correlate of emotional imagery in autism could potentially serve as a clinical interventional target for studies designed to improve facial expression recognition, or at least as an intervention biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Simões
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Informatics and Systems, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Raquel Monteiro
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - João Andrade
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Susana Mouga
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit from Child Developmental Center, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Felipe França
- PESC-COPPE, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Guiomar Oliveira
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit from Child Developmental Center, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,University Clinic of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Centro de Investigação e Formação Clínica, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Paulo Carvalho
- Center for Informatics and Systems, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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28
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Coito A, Michel CM, Vulliemoz S, Plomp G. Directed functional connections underlying spontaneous brain activity. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 40:879-888. [PMID: 30367722 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have shown that spontaneous brain activity is characterized as changing networks of coherent activity across multiple brain areas. However, the directionality of functional interactions between the most active regions in our brain at rest remains poorly understood. Here, we examined, at the whole-brain scale, the main drivers and directionality of interactions that underlie spontaneous human brain activity by applying directed functional connectivity analysis to electroencephalography (EEG) source signals. We found that the main drivers of electrophysiological activity were the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), the medial temporal lobes (MTL), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Among those regions, the PCC was the strongest driver and had both the highest integration and segregation importance, followed by the MTL regions. The driving role of the PCC and MTL resulted in an effective directed interaction directed from posterior toward anterior brain regions. Our results strongly suggest that the PCC and MTL structures are the main drivers of electrophysiological spontaneous activity throughout the brain and suggest that EEG-based directed functional connectivity analysis is a promising tool to better understand the dynamics of spontaneous brain activity in healthy subjects and in various brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Coito
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Epilepsy Unit, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Christoph M Michel
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Serge Vulliemoz
- Epilepsy Unit, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Gijs Plomp
- Perceptual Networks Group, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
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29
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Abstract
How does the brain physiology of young children with autism differ from that of typically-developing children?
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Affiliation(s)
- John P Welsh
- Autism Center, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.,Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, United States
| | - Annette M Estes
- Autism Center, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.,Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
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