Research Project
10373390
Project Summary The high and rapidly increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents a major public health challenge, as costs of care and the need for more effective interventions are growing. While classified as a brain development disorder, its diagnostic criteria remain entirely behavioral because reliable biomarkers have yet to be established. Despite a growing number of findings converging on network dysfunction and abnormal brain connectivity as potential biomarkers of the disorder, the precise patterns of the network abnormalities in ASD are still a matter of debate. Furthermore, given the positive impact that early interventions can have on both behavior and the developing brain, identification of specific patterns of brain disturbances characteristic of ASD early in life, when ASD symptoms first emerge and manifest, is needed to enhance early detection and opportunities for early interventions. The funded parent project aimed at examining functional and structural network organization and changes in young children with ASD, from the age of the first symptom onset (at 18- 24 months) through the full symptom manifestation at age 4-5 years, using a longitudinal design and multimodal MRI approach (with MRI data acquired during natural sleep). The multimodal MRI approach, including anatomical and functional connectivity MRI (aMRI, fcMRI) and advanced diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), was employed to yield a range of measures indexing brain network maturation across different scales, including volumetric growth, functional and structural connectivity, and cortical organization. Thus, funded through the NIMH BRAINS, the project aimed at characterizing changes in brain network organization, and the links between these neurobiological changes and the progressive expression of behavioral symptoms. More specifically, in line with PI?s research focus on social neural circuits, the project set to examine whether atypical organization and connectivity of sensorimotor networks (considered to be potential ?building blocks? for higher-order social cognition) early in life would predict behavioral and brain impairments in the social domain at later time points, consistent with the NIMH strategic objective to determine how brain development maps onto observable behavior. Despite the major progress and significant contributions to the field of autism made with the project?s cross- sectional data, the project steady progress towards its longitudinal aims has been abruptly halted with the Covid- 19 pandemic. Local and state mandated restrictions have severely affected our ability to complete the study?s longitudinal aims, contingent on obtaining clinical and neurodevelopmental outcome data at age 4-5 years. The Supplemental Award will allow us to complete the collection of follow-up data in 45 children, necessary for generating a unique longitudinal neurobehavioral dataset for detection of early risk predictors of ASD. Identification of early risk markers should inform earlier detection of ASD and aid with developing more targeted interventions, ultimately lessening the impact of disability associated with autism spectrum disorders.
