A Study On Regional Homogeneity Of Resting-state Brain Activity In Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objective: To explore the characteristics of sleeping resting-state brain activity in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD) by using regional homogeneity(ReHo) analysis.Methods: Twenty preschool children with ASD(ASD group) and twenty gender- and age-matched typical development preschool children(control group) underwent resting-state functional MRI scan under a state of sedation after administration of 10% choral hydrate. The resting-state functional MRI included 3D-T1 WI and blood oxygen level dependent-functional MRI(BOLD-fMRI) scan. The MRI images were analyzed with ReHo method, which evaluated the strength of local connectivity in ASD children.Results: Compared with the control group, the ReHo values decreased in left middle temporal cortex, right middle frontal gyrus, right inferior gyrus and left precuneus in ASD group(P<0.01), which implied local under-connectivity. While the ReHo values increased mainly in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, right middle anterior cingulate cortex, left postcentral gyrus, bilateral inferior parietal lobule, bilateral occipital visual cortex, bilateral fusiform gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus(P<0.01), which suggested local over-connectivity.Conclusion: Preschool children with ASD showed the abnormal ReHo values in many regions of brain, especially local over-connectivity. Our results supported the view of point that local connectivity existed excessive in order to compensate for the deficient distant connectivity leading to bad information integration. ReHo analysis is potential in fMRI analyses of ASD, and contributes to reveal the pathogenesis of ASD.