Alterations in brain networks in children with sub-threshold autism spectrum disorder: A magnetoencephalography study

• Published in: Frontiers in psychiatry Vol. 13; p. 959763
• Main Authors: Shiota, Yuka, Soma, Daiki, Hirosawa, Tetsu, Yoshimura, Yuko, Tanaka, Sanae, Hasegawa, Chiaki, Yaoi, Ken, Iwasaki, Sumie, Kameya, Masafumi, Yokoyama, Shigeru, Kikuchi, Mitsuru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 05.08.2022
• Subjects: graph theory; magnetoencephalography (MEG); Psychiatry; small-worldness; social responsiveness scale (SRS); sub-threshold autism spectrum disorder
• ISSN: 1664-0640; 1664-0640
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.959763

Individuals with sub-threshold autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are those who have social communication difficulties but do not meet the full ASD diagnostic criteria. ASD is associated with an atypical brain network; however, no studies have focused on sub-threshold ASD. Here, we used the graph approach to investigate alterations in the brain networks of children with sub-threshold ASD, independent of a clinical diagnosis. Graph theory is an effective approach for characterizing the properties of complex networks on a large scale. Forty-six children with ASD and 31 typically developing children were divided into three groups (i.e., ASD-Unlikely, ASD-Possible, and ASD-Probable groups) according to their Social Responsiveness Scale scores. We quantified magnetoencephalographic signals using a graph-theoretic index, the phase lag index, for every frequency band. Resultantly, the ASD-Probable group had significantly lower small-worldness ( SW ) in the delta, theta, and beta bands than the ASD-Unlikely group. Notably, the ASD-Possible group exhibited significantly higher SW than the ASD-Probable group and significantly lower SW than the ASD-Unlikely group in the delta band only. To our knowledge, this was the first report of the atypical brain network associated with sub-threshold ASD. Our findings indicate that magnetoencephalographic signals using graph theory may be useful in detecting sub-threshold ASD.