Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been found to be associated with alterations in resting state (RS) functional connectivity, including areas forming the default mode network (DMN) and salience network (SN). However, insufficient control for confounding genetic and environmental influences and other methodological issues limit the generalizability of previous findings. Moreover, it has been hypothesized that ASD might be marked by early hyper-connectivity followed by later hypo-connectivity. To date, only a few studies have explicitly tested age-related influences on RS connectivity alterations in ASD. Using a within-twin pair design (N=150 twins; 8-23 years), we examined altered RS connectivity between core regions of the DMN and SN in relation to autistic trait severity and age in a sample of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins showing typical development, ASD or other neurodevelopmental conditions. Connectivity between core regions of the SN was stronger in twins with higher autistic traits compared to their co-twins. This effect was significant both in the total sample and in MZ twins alone, highlighting the effect of non-shared environmental factors on the link between SN-connectivity and autistic traits. While this link was strongest in children, we did not identify differences between age groups for the SN. In contrast, connectivity between core hubs of the DMN was negatively correlated with autistic traits in adolescents and showed a similar trend in adults but not in children. The results support hypotheses of age-dependent altered RS connectivity in ASD, making altered SN and DMN connectivity promising candidate biomarkers for ASD.

中文翻译：

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沿着自闭症特征连续体的静止状态连通性的改变：一项孪生研究。

已经发现自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）与静止状态（RS）功能连接性的改变有关，包括形成默认模式网络（DMN）和显着网络（SN）的区域。但是，控制不足以混淆遗传和环境影响以及其他方法问题，这限制了先前发现的普遍性。此外，已经假设ASD可能以早期的超连接性和随后的低连接性为特征。迄今为止，只有少数研究明确测试了年龄相关因素对ASD中RS连接性改变的影响。采用双胞胎对设计（N = 150对双胞胎； 8-23岁），我们在显示典型发育，ASD或其他神经发育状况的单卵（MZ）和双卵（DZ）双胞胎样本中，检查了自闭症特征严重程度和年龄与DMN和SN核心区域之间RS连通性的变化。与双胞胎相比，自闭症特征更高的双胞胎的SN核心区域之间的连通性更强。该效应在总样本中和仅在MZ双胞胎中均很显着，突显了非共享环境因素对SN连通性与自闭症特征之间联系的影响。虽然这种联系在儿童中最为明显，但我们并未发现SN年龄段之间的差异。相比之下，DMN核心枢纽之间的连通性与青少年的自闭症特征呈负相关，并且在成人中表现出相似的趋势，但在儿童中却没有。