Scientists Discover Link Between Brain's Structural Features and Autistic Traits in Children
Scientists have discovered significant structural differences in the brain's pathways, tracts, and thalamus between children with autism and their neurotypical peers, despite finding no functional differences. The most significant alterations were found in the pathways connecting the thalamus—the brain's sensory information processing centre—to the temporal lobe. Moreover, the severity of these alterations positively correlated with the intensity of the child's autistic traits. The study findings have been published in Behavioural Brain Research.
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurological condition characterised by difficulties in communication, understanding others' emotions, and adapting to change, along with repetitive behaviours and habits. Despite scientific advances, diagnosis still relies solely on behavioural tests, making early detection more challenging. Therefore, researchers seek to identify biomarkers—objective biological indicators such as alterations in brain structure, genetic traits, or biochemical markers—that can aid in diagnosing ASD.
Scientists at HSE University, in collaboration with their colleagues at universities in the USA and Russia, compared the brain structures of children with autism and their neurotypical peers. The study participants included 38 children aged 7 to 14. Prior to the study, data on their nonverbal intelligence, language development, and the severity of autistic traits in areas such as social skills, attention shifting, communication, imagination, and attention to detail was collected.
The researchers closely examined the brain's white matter, a component of the central nervous system composed of myelinated axons that transmit information between different brain regions. White matter functions as a conductor, connecting different brain regions and ensuring their smooth operation.
The study also examined the functional connectivity of the thalamus, an important information-processing centre in the brain, with various cortical areas composed of neurons. The thalamus can be likened to a control room: it receives sensory signals, partially processes them, and transmits them to the cerebral cortex, where the information is analysed and transformed into conscious sensations. Studying thalamocortical functional connectivity—the mechanisms by which the activity of one area influences another one—helps understand how the brain coordinates perception and responds to the world around it.
The researchers examined 40 pathways connecting the thalamus to various regions of the cerebral cortex. Two types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used in the analysis: fMRI to study the functional connectivity of the thalamus, and diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI to examine the movement of water molecules within the white matter tracts connecting the thalamus to other brain regions. It was found that in children with autism, the microstructure of these pathways differs significantly from those in their typically developing peers. The scientists identified alterations in metrics related to the movement of water in tissues, which may suggest axonal damage in children with autism. A decrease in fractional anisotropy, a marker of white matter integrity, was also observed. The alterations were most pronounced in the pathways connecting the thalamus to the temporal lobes. These disorders may be linked to issues with the myelin sheath or the structure of the fibres themselves.
'We have completed two tasks. First, we applied a new method of tractographic analysis, hybrid tractography, which allows for the visualisation of white matter fibre bundles, even at their intersections. This is particularly important for studying projection pathways,' explains Alina Minnigulova, Research Fellow at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain. 'Second, we analysed the functional connectivity between the thalamus and the same cortical regions. It was found that despite the absence of functional differences, the microstructure, structure, and characteristics of these pathways are markedly different.'
The scientists also found that the more severely the white matter structure is disrupted, the more pronounced the autistic traits in children with ASD. This indicates that alterations in the brain's pathways are linked to the manifestation of autistic traits. The researchers suggest that studying the brain's white matter may be a promising direction for identifying biomarkers of these disorders.
'Currently, there is no test that can accurately diagnose autism. Our study demonstrates that examining white matter, particularly the structure of thalamic connections, can be an important area of research and, potentially, a valuable diagnostic tool in the future,' explains Minnigulova.
The study was conducted with support from the HSE Basic Research Programme.
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