The aim was to go beyond functional connectivity, by measuring in the first large‐scale study differences in effective, that is directed, connectivity between brain areas in autism compared to controls. Resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging was analyzed from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) data set in 394 people with autism spectrum disorder and 473 controls, and effective connectivity (EC) was measured between 94 brain areas. First, in autism, the middle temporal gyrus and other temporal areas had lower effective connectivities to the precuneus and cuneus, and these were correlated with the Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule total, communication, and social scores. This lower EC from areas implicated in face expression analysis and theory of mind to the precuneus and cuneus implicated in the sense of self may relate to the poor understanding of the implications of face expression inputs for oneself in autism, and to the reduced theory of mind. Second, the hippocampus and amygdala had higher EC to the middle temporal gyrus in autism, and these are thought to be back projections based on anatomical evidence and are weaker than in the other direction. This may be related to increased retrieval of recent and emotional memories in autism. Third, some prefrontal cortex areas had higher EC with each other and with the precuneus and cuneus. Fourth, there was decreased EC from the temporal pole to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and there was evidence for lower activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a brain area implicated in emotion‐related decision‐making. Autism Res 2020, 13: 32–44. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

中文翻译：

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自闭症的有效连接。

目的是通过在第一个大规模研究中测量自闭症的大脑区域与对照组之间在有效的，有针对性的连通性方面的差异来超越功能连通性。通过对394名自闭症谱系障碍患者和473名对照的自闭症脑成像数据交换（ABIDE）数据集进行了静息状态功能磁共振成像分析，并测量了94个大脑区域之间的有效连通性（EC）。首先，在自闭症中，颞中回和其他颞部区域与早孕神经和楔骨的有效连通性较低，这些与自闭症诊断性观察表的总分，沟通能力和社会分数相关。从涉及面部表情分析和心理理论的领域到涉及自我意识的早孕和楔骨的较低EC，可能与对自闭症中面部表情输入对自己的含义的了解不足有关，也与简化的心理理论有关。其次，在自闭症中，海马和杏仁核的EC值高于颞中回，根据解剖学证据，它们被认为是背投影，比其他方向的虚弱。这可能与自闭症中最近和情绪记忆的恢复增加有关。第三，前额皮层的某些区域彼此之间以及与早突神经和楔骨之间的EC较高。第四，从颞极到腹膜前额叶皮层的EC降低，并且有证据表明腹膜前额叶皮层的活性降低，Autism Res 2020，13：32-44。©2019国际自闭症研究会，Wiley Periodicals，Inc.