Objective

The anterior insular cortex (AI), which is a part of the salience network, is critically involved in visual awareness, multisensory perception, and social and emotional processing, among other functions. In children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), evidence has suggested aberrant functional connectivity (FC) of AI compared with typically developing peers. While recent studies have primarily focused on the functional connections between salience and social networks, much less is known about connectivity between AI and primary sensory regions, including visual areas, and how these patterns may be linked to autism symptomatology.

Method

The current investigation implemented functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine resting-state FC patterns of salience and visual networks in children and adolescents with ASDs compared with typically developing controls, and to relate them to behavioral measures.

Results

Functional underconnectivity was found in the ASD group between left AI and bilateral visual cortices. Moreover, in an ASD subgroup with more atypical visual sensory profiles, FC was positively correlated with abnormal social motivational responsivity.

Conclusion

Findings of reduced FC between salience and visual networks in ASDs potentially indicate deficient selection of salient information. Moreover, in children and adolescents with ASDs who show strongly atypical visual sensory profiles, connectivity at seemingly more neurotypical levels may be paradoxically associated with greater impairment of social motivation.

中文翻译：

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自闭症谱系障碍中视觉和显着网络之间的联系不足以及与感觉异常的联系

客观的

前岛叶皮层 (AI) 是显着网络的一部分，与视觉意识、多感官知觉、社交和情绪处理等功能密切相关。在患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的儿童和青少年中，有证据表明与正常发育的同龄人相比，人工智能的功能连接性 (FC) 异常。虽然最近的研究主要集中在显着性和社交网络之间的功能联系上，但对人工智能和主要感觉区域（包括视觉区域）之间的连接性以及这些模式如何与自闭症症状学联系起来知之甚少。

方法

目前的研究实施了功能性磁共振成像，以检查患有 ASD 的儿童和青少年的显着性和视觉网络的静息状态 FC 模式，并与正常发育的对照组进行比较，并将它们与行为测量联系起来。

结果

在 ASD 组中发现左侧 AI 和双侧视觉皮层之间的功能连接不足。此外，在具有更多非典型视觉感觉特征的 ASD 亚组中，FC 与异常的社会动机反应呈正相关。

结论

ASD 中显着性和视觉网络之间 FC 减少的发现可能表明显着信息选择不足。此外，在表现出强烈非典型视觉感觉特征的 ASD 儿童和青少年中，看似更典型的神经水平的连接可能与更大的社会动机损害相关。