Overconnectivity of the right Heschl's and inferior temporal gyrus correlates with symptom severity in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.
Daegyeom Kim, Joo Young Lee, Byeong Chang Jeong and 6 others
PMID 34529363WHAT IT FOUND
Preschoolers with low-functioning autism showed stronger structural connections in the right auditory and visual processing regions.
This overconnectivity correlated with more severe social communication symptoms, though global brain network measures did not differ from typically developing children.
Key findings
01Nodal strength was significantly higher in the right Heschl's gyrus and right inferior temporal gyrus in children with low-functioning ASD compared to typically developing controls.
02The strength of connections in the right Heschl's gyrus was positively correlated with the severity of autistic symptoms, specifically total ADOS scores and social affect scores.
03There was no significant difference in global topological measures of brain structural networks between the low-functioning ASD and typically developing groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (52 children), which limits the generalizability of the findings. The study did not include an IQ-matched control group (children with low IQ but without ASD), so it cannot determine whether the brain connectivity differences are specific to autism or related to low intellectual functioning. The use of deterministic tractography has inherent limitations, particularly in resolving crossing fibers. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if these connectivity patterns are present at birth or develop over time.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as a diagnostic biomarker for autism. The study lacks an IQ-matched control group, meaning the observed overconnectivity in the right auditory and visual regions could be related to low intellectual functioning rather than autism specifically.