BACKGROUND Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) exhibit a shared phenotype that involves executive dysfunctions including impairments in mental flexibility (MF). It is of interest to understand if this phenotype stems from some shared neurobiology. METHODS To investigate this possibility, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) neuroimaging to compare brain activity in children (n = 88; 8-15 years) with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), as they completed a set-shifting/mental flexibility task. RESULTS Neuroimaging results revealed a similar parietal activation profile across the NDD, groups suggesting a link to their shared phenotype. Differences in frontal activity differentiated the three clinical groups. Brain-behaviour analyses showed a link with repetitive behaviours suggesting shared dysfunction in the associative loop of the corticostriatal system. CONCLUSION Our study supports the notion that NDDs may exist along a complex phenotypic/biological continuum. All NDD groups showed a sustained parietal activity profile suggesting that they share a strong reliance on the posterior parietal cortices to complete the mental flexibility task; future studies could elucidate whether this is due to delayed brain development or compensatory functioning. The differences in frontal activity may play a role in differentiating the NDDs. The OCD group showed sustained prefrontal activity that may be reflective of hyperfrontality. The ASD group showed reduced frontal activation suggestive of frontal dysfunction and the ADHD group showed an extensive hypoactivity that included frontal and parietal regions. Brain-behaviour analyses showed a significant correlation with repetitive behaviours which may reflect dysfunction in the associative loop of the corticostriatal system, linked to inflexible behaviours.

中文翻译：

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心理灵活性任务期间的脑磁图（MEG）脑活动表明，患有神经发育障碍的儿童有一些共同的神经生物学。

背景技术患有神经发育障碍（NDD）的儿童表现出一种共同的表型，其中涉及执行功能障碍，包括心理灵活性（MF）受损。有趣的是，了解这种表型是否源于某些共享的神经生物学。方法为了研究这种可能性，我们使用磁脑电图（MEG）神经影像学来比较自闭症谱系障碍（ASD），注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）和强迫症（n = 88）的儿童（n = 88; 8-15岁）的脑活动OCD），因为他们完成了定型/心理灵活性任务。结果神经影像学结果显示，整个NDD的顶叶活化谱相似，各组提示与其共有表型的联系。额叶活动的差异区分了三个临床组。脑行为分析显示与重复性行为有关，提示皮质性角膜系统的关联回路共有功能障碍。结论我们的研究支持NDDs可能沿着复杂的表型/生物连续体存在的观点。所有NDD组均表现出持续的顶叶活动特征，表明他们强烈依赖顶叶后皮质完成心理适应性任务。未来的研究可以阐明这是否是由于大脑发育迟缓或代偿性功能造成的。额叶活动的差异可能在区分NDDs中起作用。OCD组表现出持续的额前活动，这可能反映了额过多。ASD组显示额叶活化减少，提示额叶功能障碍，ADHD组表现出广泛的机能减退，包括额叶和顶叶区域。脑行为分析表明，重复行为与重复行为之间存在显着相关性，这可能反映了皮质硬皮系统结合循环中的功能障碍，与不灵活的行为有关。