Background and Objective: Global hypoconnectivity with increased local hyperconnectivity and reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity has been demonstrated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, changes in brain functional connectivity (FC) following interventions is seldom researched. This study was conducted to understand the evolution of FC by resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) after structured intervention program.

Methods: 10 ASD children between 6 and 12 years underwent rs-fMRI at baseline (FCB) and six months after interventions (FCI). The images were processed using Conn functional connectivity toolbox. A group specific template was created using Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie Algebra (DARTEL). The whole-brain FC differences in networks spanning 32 regions of interest (ROIs) were compared between FCB and FCI.

Results: The mean age was 9.03 ±1.87 years; all were males. A significant increase in inter-hemispheric connectivity and within networks was observed in FCI (Fig 1). Hyper-connectivity between anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and right anterior insula (AI) (p 0.0083), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) to the left (p 0.0095) and right (0.0095) lateral parietal regions and sensorimotor region to the intraparietal sulcus (p 0.0075) and increased inter-hemispheric connectivity between bilateral AI (p=0.0045), bilateral frontal eye field (FEF) (p 0.0028), bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) (p 0.0001) and lateral sensorimotor (p<0.0001) regions were found in FCI compared to FCB.

Conclusion: This study highlights the significant changes in FC in ASD children following interventions. rs-fMRI might be an useful investigative modality for monitoring these children in addition to the clinical evaluation.

Gowthami Nair
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical sciences and Technology
India

Bejoy Thomas
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical sciences and Technology
India

Betsy Baby
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical sciences and Technology
India

Lincy Philip
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical sciences and Technology
India

Suja Kunnath
National Institute of Speech and Hearing
India

Lakshmi S Mohan
National Institute of Speech and Hearing
India

Soumya Sundaram
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical sciences and Technology
India