Brainstem white matter microstructure is associated with hyporesponsiveness and overall sensory features in autistic children.

Autor: Surgent O; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Riaz A; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA., Ausderau KK; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Occupational Therapy Program in the Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Adluru N; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Kirk GR; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA., Guerrero-Gonzalez J; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Skaletski EC; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Occupational Therapy Program in the Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Kecskemeti SR; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA., Dean Iii DC; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.; Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Weismer SE; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.; Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.; Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Alexander AL; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.; Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.; Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Travers BG; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA. btravers@wisc.edu.; Occupational Therapy Program in the Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA. btravers@wisc.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Molecular autism [Mol Autism] 2022 Dec 19; Vol. 13 (1), pp. 48. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Dec 19.
DOI: 10.1186/s13229-022-00524-3
Abstrakt: Background: Elevated or reduced responses to sensory stimuli, known as sensory features, are common in autistic individuals and often impact quality of life. Little is known about the neurobiological basis of sensory features in autistic children. However, the brainstem may offer critical insights as it has been associated with both basic sensory processing and core features of autism.
Methods: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and parent-report of sensory features were acquired from 133 children (61 autistic children with and 72 non-autistic children, 6-11 years-old). Leveraging novel DWI processing techniques, we investigated the relationship between sensory features and white matter microstructure properties (free-water-elimination-corrected fractional anisotropy [FA] and mean diffusivity [MD]) in precisely delineated brainstem white matter tracts. Follow-up analyses assessed relationships between microstructure and sensory response patterns/modalities and analyzed whole brain white matter using voxel-based analysis.
Results: Results revealed distinct relationships between brainstem microstructure and sensory features in autistic children compared to non-autistic children. In autistic children, more prominent sensory features were generally associated with lower MD. Further, in autistic children, sensory hyporesponsiveness and tactile responsivity were strongly associated with white matter microstructure in nearly all brainstem tracts. Follow-up voxel-based analyses confirmed that these relationships were more prominent in the brainstem/cerebellum, with additional sensory-brain findings in the autistic group in the white matter of the primary motor and somatosensory cortices, the occipital lobe, the inferior parietal lobe, and the thalamic projections.
Limitations: All participants communicated via spoken language and acclimated to the sensory environment of an MRI session, which should be considered when assessing the generalizability of this work to the whole of the autism spectrum.
Conclusions: These findings suggest unique brainstem white matter contributions to sensory features in autistic children compared to non-autistic children. The brainstem correlates of sensory features underscore the potential reflex-like nature of behavioral responses to sensory stimuli in autism and have implications for how we conceptualize and address sensory features in autistic populations.
(© 2022. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje