Atypical frontoamygdala functional connectivity in youth with autism

Paola Odriozola; Dina R Dajani; Catherine A Burrows; Laurel J Gabard-Durnam; Emma Goodman; Adriana C Baez; Nim Tottenham; Lucina Q Uddin; Dylan G Gee

doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2018.12.001

Atypical frontoamygdala functional connectivity in youth with autism

Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2019 Jun:37:100603. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.12.001. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Authors

Paola Odriozola¹, Dina R Dajani², Catherine A Burrows², Laurel J Gabard-Durnam³, Emma Goodman⁴, Adriana C Baez², Nim Tottenham⁵, Lucina Q Uddin⁶, Dylan G Gee⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA. Electronic address: paola.odriozola@yale.edu.
² Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA.
³ Division of Developmental Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA; Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami FL, 33136, USA.

Abstract

Functional connectivity (FC) between the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex underlies socioemotional functioning, a core domain of impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although frontoamygdala circuitry undergoes dynamic changes throughout development, little is known about age-related changes in frontoamygdala networks in ASD. Here we characterize frontoamygdala resting-state FC in a cross-sectional sample (ages 7-25) of 58 typically developing (TD) individuals and 53 individuals with ASD. Contrary to hypotheses, individuals with ASD did not show different age-related patterns of frontoamygdala FC compared with TD individuals. However, overall group differences in frontoamygdala FC were observed. Specifically, relative to TD individuals, individuals with ASD showed weaker frontoamygdala FC between the right basolateral (BL) amygdala and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). These findings extend prior work to a broader developmental range in ASD, and indicate ASD-related differences in frontoamygdala FC that may underlie core socioemotional impairments in children and adolescents with ASD.

Keywords: Adolescence; Amygdala; Autism spectrum disorder (ASD); Development; Prefrontal cortex; Resting-state functional connectivity.

MeSH terms

Amygdala / physiopathology*
Autism Spectrum Disorder / physiopathology*
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
Male
Prefrontal Cortex / physiopathology*

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding