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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.10.27.466195

Altered Salience Network Connectivity in 6-Week-Old Infants at Risk for Autism

Tsang, T.·Green, S.·Liu, J.·Lawrence, K.·Jeste, S.·Bookheimer, S.·Dapretto, M.
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Abstract

Converging evidence implicates disrupted brain connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the mechanisms linking altered connectivity early in development to the emergence of ASD symptomatology remain poorly understood. Here we examined whether atypicalities in the Salience Network (SN) - an early-emerging neural network involved in orienting attention to the most salient aspects of ones internal and external environment - may predict the development of ASD markers such as reduced social attention and atypical sensory processing. Six-week-old infants at high-risk for ASD exhibited stronger SN connectivity with sensorimotor regions; low-risk infants demonstrated stronger SN connectivity with prefrontal regions involved in social attention. Infants with higher connectivity with sensorimotor regions had lower connectivity with prefrontal regions, suggesting a direct tradeoff between attention to basic sensory versus socially-relevant information. Early alterations in SN connectivity predicted subsequent ASD symptomatology, providing a plausible mechanistic account for the unfolding of atypical developmental trajectories associated with ASD risk.

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Tsang, T., Green, S., Liu, J., Lawrence, K., Jeste, S., Bookheimer, S., Dapretto, M.. 2021-10-28. Altered Salience Network Connectivity in 6-Week-Old Infants at Risk for Autism. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.27.466195

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