Changes of Entropy Connectivity of the Default Mode and Central Executive Networks in ASD

Abstract Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by different levels of repetitive and stereotypic behavior as well as cognitive deficit. Brain structural and functional changes of individuals with ASD have been reported in previous investigations. To provide more implications for clinical diagnosis and treatment of ASD, it is necessary to further explore the changes of cerebral neural activities in ASD.Method: We reinvestigate the brain functional networks (viz. the default mode network (DMN) and central executive network (CEN)) of ASD utilizing entropy connectivity (a kind of causal connectivity) method and nodal degree (a topological property in graph theoretical analysis). Eighty-nine patients with ASD and 94 age-matched typical developing (TD) teenagers participated in this study.Result: Two-sample t tests revealed weakened entropy connectivity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left supramarginal gyrus in the CEN, as well as reduced entropy connectivity in the ventral posterior cingulate cortex and the retrosplenial cingulate cortex but enhanced asynchronous output entropy connectivity from the right dorsal frontal cortex to the left piriform cortex in the DMN in patients with ASD. In addition, we also noted significantly decreased nodal degrees in the right somatosensory association cortex and the supramarginal gyrus in individuals with ASD.Limitation: The differences of data from different sites in MRI acquisition settings, such as keep eye open or close, decline the credibility of the results. And further discussion is blocked for BAs template, the lack of ADOS data in ABIDE I and regardless of the effect of sensorimotor related cortex. Conclusion: These findings indicate that overconnecitivity and underconnecitivity in the CEN and DMN might be an important factor that contributes to executive and cognitive disorders of individuals with ASD.