Hangyan Yu
ABSTRACT
Impairment in pragmatic language is one of the most noticeable symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Abnormal activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a critical language area associated with pragmatic meaning processing, has been repeatedly reported in individuals with ASD. While brain areas are connected via networks, few studies have examined how the intrinsic network of IFG is connected atypically to other brain areas in ASD participants compared to typical controls. To elucidate the putative brain network underlying IFG, we compared the resting-state functional connectivity in ASD and typically developing children. A two-sample t-test based on 16 autistic and 16 typically developing children revealed that both LIFG and RIFG had aberrant functional connectivity. Specifically, compared to the typically developing children, the ASD group had lower pragmatic language performance and were associated with weaker connectivity between LIFG and inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), inferior frontal gyrus, opercular part (IFGoperc), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and thalamus (THA), but increased functional connectivity between LIFG and cingulate gyrus (CG). Regarding RIFG, our study revealed reduced functional connectivity between RIFG and the fusiform (FFG), lingual gyrus (LING), pons, and cuneus (CUN), but increased functional connectivity between RIFG and the middle temporal gyrus (MTG). This altered brain network is closely linked to the classical network of Theory of mind (ToM) network, which provides a rationale for understanding pragmatic language impairment in autism. Based on the results of functional connectivity, this study discussed the possible reasons of pragmatic impairment in children with autism in the scope of ToM, and provided suggestions for the neural mechanism, clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation of children with autism who have pragmatic disorders.
- A. Turken and N. Dronkers, “The neural architecture of the language comprehension network: Converging evidence from lesion and connectivity analyses,” Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, vol. 5, 2011.Google Scholar
Cross Ref
- M. Just, V. Cherkassky, T. Keller, and N. Minshew, “Cortical activation and synchronization during sentence comprehension in high-functioning autism: Evidence of underconnectivity,” Brain : a journal of neurology, vol. 127, pp. 1811-1821, 2004.Google Scholar
- H.Tager-Flusberg,"Brief report: Current theory and research on language and communication in autism," Journal of autism and developmental disorders, vol. 26, pp. 169-172, 1996.Google ScholarCross Ref
- K. Gillespie-Lynch, L. Sepeta, Y. Wang, S. Marshall, L. Gomez, M. Sigman , "Early childhood predictors of the social competence of adults with autism," Journal of autism and developmental disorders, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 161-174, 2012.Google ScholarCross Ref
- X. Zhang, J. Yang, R. Wang, and P. Li, “A neuroimaging study of semantic representation in first and second languages,” Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, vol. 35, pp. 1-16, 2020.Google ScholarCross Ref
- A. T. Wang, S. Lee, M. Sigman, and M. Dapretto, “Neural basis of irony comprehension in children with autism: The role of prosody and context,” Brain: a journal of neurology, vol. 129, pp. 932-943, 2006.Google Scholar
- D. L. Murdaugh, J. O. Maximo, and R. K. Kana, "Changes in intrinsic connectivity of the brain's reading network following intervention in children with autism," Hum. Brain Mapp., vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 2965-2979, 2015.Google ScholarCross Ref
- T. Knaus, A. Silver, K. Lindgren, N. Hadjikhani, and H. Tager-Flusberg, "FMRI activation during a language task in adolescents with ASD," J. Int. Neuropsychol. Soc., vol. 14, pp. 967-979, 2008.Google ScholarCross Ref
- R.C.M. Philip, M.R. Dauvermann, H.C. Whalley, K. Baynham, S.M. Lawrie, and A.C. Stanfield, "A systematic review and meta-analysis of the fMRI investigation of autism spectrum disorders," Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 901-942, 2012.Google ScholarCross Ref
- C. S. Monk, S. J. Peltier, J. L. Wiggins, S.-J. Weng, M. Carrasco, S. Risi, and C. Lord, "Abnormalities of intrinsic functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorders," NeuroImage, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 764-772, 2009.Google ScholarCross Ref
- J. V. Hull, L. B. Dokovna, Z. J. Jacokes, C. M. Torgerson, A. Irimia, and J. D. Van Horn, “Resting-state functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorders: A review,” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 7, 2017.Google Scholar
- W. Wang, J. Liu, S. Shi, T. Liu, L. Ma, X. Ma, , “Altered resting-state functional activity in patients with autism spectrum disorder: A quantitative meta-analysis,” Frontiers in Neurology, vol. 9, 2018.Google ScholarCross Ref
- W. B. Groen, C. M. J. Y. Tesink, K. M. Petersson, J. van Berkum, R. Gaag, P. Hagoort , "Semantic, factual, and social language comprehension in adolescents with autism: An fMRI study," Cerebral cortex, vol. 20, pp. 1937-1945, 2009.Google ScholarCross Ref
- R. A. Mason, D. L. Williams, R. K. Kana, N. Minshew, and M. A. Just, "Theory of mind disruption and recruitment of the right hemisphere during narrative comprehension in autism," Neuropsychologia, vol. 46, pp. 269-280, 2008.Google ScholarCross Ref
- C. Tesink, J. Buitelaar, K. M. Petersson, R. Gaag, C. Kan, I. Tendolkar, and P. Hagoort, “Neural correlates of pragmatic language comprehension in autism spectrum disorders,” Brain: a journal of neurology, vol. 132, pp. 1941-1952, 2009Google Scholar
- C. Tesink, J. Buitelaar, K. M. Petersson, R. Gaag, C. Kan, I. Tendolkar, and P. Hagoort, “Neural correlates of pragmatic language comprehension in autism spectrum disorders,” Brain: a journal of neurology, vol. 132, pp. 1941-1952, 2009Google Scholar
- W.Sato , "Impaired social brain network for processing dynamic facial expressions in autism spectrum disorders," BMC Neurosci., vol. 13,no .99 , Sep. 2012.Google Scholar
- G. Olivito, S. Clausi, F. Laghi, A. M. Tedesco, R. Baiocco, C. Mastropasqua, , "Resting-state functional connectivity changes between dentate nucleus and cortical social brain regions in autism spectrum disorders," Cerebellum, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 283-292, 2017.Google ScholarCross Ref
- F. Castelli , "Autism, asperger syndrome and brain mechanisms for the attribution of mental states to animated shapes," Brain: a journal of neurology, vol. 125, pp. 1839-1849, Aug. 2002.Google Scholar
- M. Just, V. Cherkassky, T. Keller, and N. Minshew, “Cortical activation and synchronization during sentence comprehension in high-functioning autism: Evidence of underconnectivity,” Brain: A Journal of Neurology, vol. 127, pp. 1811–1821, 2004.Google Scholar
- M. Just, V. Cherkassky, T. Keller, and N. Minshew, “Cortical activation and synchronization during sentence comprehension in high-functioning autism: Evidence of underconnectivity,” Brain: A Journal of Neurology, vol. 127, pp. 1811–1821, 2004.Google Scholar
- J. Powell, J. Furlong, C. De bezenac, N. O'Sullivan, and R. Corcoran, "The pragmatics of pragmatic language and the curse of ambiguity: An fMRI study," Neuroscience, vol. 418, pp. 291-298, 2019.Google ScholarCross Ref
- MATLAB, Version 7.10.0 (R2010a). Natick, Massachusetts: The MathWorks Inc., 2010.Google Scholar
- C. G. Yan, X. D. Wang, X. N. Zuo, and Y. F. Zang, “DPABI: Data processing & analysis for (resting-state) brain imaging,” Neuroinformatics, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 339–351, 2016.Google ScholarCross Ref
- W. D. Penny, K. J. Friston, J. T. Ashburner, S. J. Kiebel, and T. E. Nichols, Statistical Parametric Mapping: The Analysis of Functional Brain Images. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier, 2011.Google Scholar
- N. Hadjikhani, R. M. Joseph, J. Snyder, and H. Tager-Flusberg, “Abnormal activation of the social brain during face perception in autism,” Human Brain Mapping, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 441–449, 2007.Google ScholarCross Ref
- C. Kobayashi, G. H. Glover, and E. Temple, "Children's and adults’ neural bases of verbal and nonverbal ‘theory of mind’," Neuropsychologia, vol. 45, no. 7, pp. 1522-1532, 2007.Google ScholarCross Ref
- C. Kobayashi, G. H. Glover, and E. Temple, "Children's and adults’ neural bases of verbal and nonverbal ‘theory of mind’," Neuropsychologia, vol. 45, no. 7, pp. 1522-1532, 2007.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Z. Dai, H. Zhang, F. Lin, S. Feng, Y. Wei, and J. Zhou, "The classification system and biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder: A machine learning approach," presented at the Bioinformatics Research and Applications, Cham, 2021.Google Scholar
- A. Tryfon, N. E. V. Foster, M. Sharda, and K. L. Hyde, “Speech perception in autism spectrum disorder: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis,” Behavioural Brain Research, vol. 338, pp. 118-127, 2018.Google ScholarCross Ref
- A. J. Herringshaw, C. J. Ammons, T. P. DeRamus, and R. K. Kana, “Hemispheric differences in language processing in autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies,” Autism Research, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 1046–1057, 2016.Google ScholarCross Ref
- P. C. Fletcher, F. Happé, U. Frith, S. C. Baker, R. J. Dolan, R. S. J. Frackowiak , "Other minds in the brain: A functional imaging study of “theory of mind” in story comprehension," Cognition, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 109-128, 1995.Google Scholar
- A. Mizuno, M. E. Villalobos, M. M. Davies, B. C. Dahl, and R.-A. Müller, "Partially enhanced thalamocortical functional connectivity in autism," Brain Res., vol. 1104, no. 1, pp. 160-174, 2006.Google ScholarCross Ref
- K. D. Tsatsanis, B. P. Rourke, A. Klin, F. R. Volkmar, D. Cicchetti, and R. T. Schultz, “Reduced thalamic volume in high-functioning individuals with autism,” Biological Psychiatry, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 121-129, 2003.Google ScholarCross Ref
- T. Nieminen-von Wendt, L. Metsähonkala, T. Kulomäki, S. Aalto, T. Autti, R. Vanhala, and L. von Wendt, "Changes in cerebral blood flow in Aspergersyndrome during theory of mind tasks presented by the auditory route," Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 178-189, 2003.Google ScholarCross Ref
- P. Indefrey and W. J. M. Levelt, “The spatial and temporal signatures of word production components,” Cognition, vol. 92, no. 1-2, pp. 101–144, 2004.Google ScholarCross Ref
- E. M. Vikingstad, K. P. George, A. F. Johnson, and Y. Cao, “Cortical language lateralization in right handed normal subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging,” Journal of the Neurological Sciences, vol. 175, no. 1, pp. 17-27, 2000.Google ScholarCross Ref
- J. Abutalebi and D. Green, "Bilingual language production: The neurocognition of language representation and control," J. Neurolinguistics, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 242-275, May 2007.Google ScholarCross Ref
- R.T. Schultz, "Developmental deficits in social perception in autism: The role of the amygdala and fusiform face area," International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, vol. 23, no. 2-3, pp. 125-141, 2005.Google ScholarCross Ref
- J. M. Henderson, W. Choi, M. W. Lowder, and F. Ferreira, “Language structure in the brain: A fixation-related fMRI study of syntactic surprisal in reading,” NeuroImage, vol. 132, pp. 293–300, 2016.Google ScholarCross Ref
- J. Zhao, Q.-L. Li, J.-J. Wang, Y. Yang, Y. Deng, and H.-Y. Bi, “Neural basis of phonological processing in second language reading: An fMRI study of Chinese regularity effect,” NeuroImage, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 419-425, 2012.Google ScholarCross Ref
- E. Claesdotter-Knutsson, S. Åkerlund, M. Cervin, M. Råstam, and M. Lindvall, "Abnormal auditory brainstem response in the pons region in youth with autism," Neurology, Psychiatry and Brain Research, vol. 32, pp. 122-125, 2019.Google ScholarCross Ref
- G. R. Gaffney, S. Kuperman, L. Y. Tsai, and S. Minchin, "Morphological evidence for brainstem involvement in infantile autism," Biological Psychiatry, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 578-586, 1988.Google ScholarCross Ref
- L.Schlaffke , "Shared and nonshared neural networks of cognitive and affective theory-of-mind: A neuroimaging study using cartoon picture stories," Hum.Brain Mapp., vol .36 ,no .1 ,pp .29 -39 ,Jan. 2015.Google Scholar
- P.-J. Chen , "Differences in age-dependent neural correlates of semantic processing between youths with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing youths," Autism Res., vol. 9, no. 12, pp. 1263-1273, Dec. 2016.Google ScholarCross Ref
- M. Jáni and T. Kasparek, “Emotion recognition and theory of mind in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies,” The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, vol. 19, pp. 1–31, 2017Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Intrinsic Brain Connectivity Associated with Pragmatic Language Impairment in Children with Autism
Recommendations
Aberrant Thalamic Functional Connectivity for the Differential diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder
ICBET '21: Proceedings of the 2021 11th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and TechnologyBipolar disorder (BD) is regularly misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder (MDD). BD and MDD are characterized by a wide range of symptoms, cognitive impairments, and altered functional connectivity (FC) between different brain regions. The thalamus ...
Whole-brain functional connectome-based multivariate classification of post-stroke aphasia
Accuracy of classification of patients with PAS and controls reached to 86.5%.Consensus connections were located in fronto-parietal and auditory networks.Region with the highest weight of classification was the right rolandic operculum. Patients with ...
Functional connectivity analysis with voxel-based morphometry for diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment
ICONIP'11: Proceedings of the 18th international conference on Neural Information Processing - Volume Part IThe cortical atrophy measured from the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data along with aberrant neuronal activation patterns from the functional MRI data have been implicated in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is a potential early form of a ...
Comments