Iron deposition and functional connectivity alterations in the right substantia nigra of adult males with autism.

The substantia nigra (SN) is a midbrain nucleus implicated not only in motor control and reward processing but also in higher-order cognitive functions. Iron homeostasis in this region is essential for neurotransmitter synthesis, especially for dopamine, and thus, iron dysregulation may contribute to the symptomatology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, iron deposition and functional circuits of the SN in the autistic brain remain underexplored.

Computational mechanisms of neuroimaging biomarkers uncovered by multicenter resting-state fMRI connectivity variation profile.

Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is increasingly used to develop biomarkers for psychiatric disorders. Despite progress, development of the reliable and practical FC biomarker remains an unmet goal, particularly one that is clinically predictive at the individual level with generalizability, robustness, and accuracy. In this study, we propose a new approach to profile each connectivity from diverse perspective, encompassing not only disorder-related differences but also disorder-unrelated variations attributed to individual difference, within-subject across-runs, imaging protocol, and scanner factors.

Comprehensive evaluation of pipelines for classification of psychiatric disorders using multi-site resting-state fMRI datasets.

Objective classification biomarkers that are developed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data are expected to contribute to more effective treatment for psychiatric disorders. Unfortunately, no widely accepted biomarkers are available at present, partially because of the large variety of analysis pipelines for their development. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated analysis pipelines using a large-scale, multi-site fMRI dataset for major depressive disorder (MDD).

Neural substrates of multidimensional psychological characteristics of remembering episodes with autobiographical significance.

Autobiographic remembering often involves types of constructive processes for psychological experiences and hypothetical scenarios of past events. Previous psychological research revealed a range of phenomenological and functional characteristics associated with recalls of episodes with high autobiographical significance. However, neural bases of such psychological characteristics and their association with memory construction processes remain unclear.

Sensory seeking and its influence on sustained attention performance in adult males with Autism Spectrum Condition.

Atypical sensory responses and seeking behaviors constitute the core symptoms of autism spectrum condition (ASC). There are possible links between atypical sensory profiles and attentional challenges in ASC. Due to the paucity of studies in adults, the nature of attentional challenges and their associations with sensory profiles in autistic adults remain elusive.

Functional alterations of lateral temporal cortex for processing voice prosody in adults with autism spectrum disorder.

The human auditory system includes discrete cortical patches and selective regions for processing voice information, including emotional prosody. Although behavioral evidence indicates individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in recognizing emotional prosody, it remains understudied whether and how localized voice patches (VPs) and other voice-sensitive regions are functionally altered in processing prosody. This fMRI study investigated neural responses to prosodic voices in 25 adult males with ASD and 33 controls using voices of anger, sadness, and happiness with varying degrees of emotion.

Roles of empathy in altruistic cooperation in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Altruistic cooperation (AC) is essential in human social interactions. Previous studies have investigated AC-related behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), revealing that there is considerable individual variability in the behavior. However, this issue is still largely unexplored especially in the adult population.

Shared and Specific Neural Correlates of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of 243 Task-Based Functional MRI Studies.

Objective: To investigate shared and specific neural correlates of cognitive functions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the authors performed a comprehensive meta-analysis and considered a balanced set of neuropsychological tasks across the two disorders.

Methods: A broad set of electronic databases was searched up to December 4, 2022, for task-based functional MRI studies investigating differences between individuals with ADHD or ASD and typically developing control subjects. Spatial coordinates of brain loci differing significantly between case and control subjects were extracted.

Meta-analysis of structural integrity of white matter and functional connectivity in developmental stuttering.

Developmental stuttering is a speech disfluency disorder characterized by repetitions, prolongations, and blocks of speech. While a number of neuroimaging studies have identified alterations in localized brain activation during speaking in persons with stuttering (PWS), it is unclear whether neuroimaging evidence converges on alterations in structural integrity of white matter and functional connectivity (FC) among multiple regions involved in supporting fluent speech. In the present study, we conducted coordinate-based meta-analyses according to the PRISMA guidelines for available publications that studied fractional anisotropy (FA) using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) for structural integrity and the seed-based voxel-wise FC analyses.

Cerebral cortical structural alteration patterns across four major psychiatric disorders in 5549 individuals.

According to the operational diagnostic criteria, psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are classified based on symptoms. While its cluster of symptoms defines each of these psychiatric disorders, there is also an overlap in symptoms between the disorders. We hypothesized that there are also similarities and differences in cortical structural neuroimaging features among these psychiatric disorders.

Subcortical volumetric alterations in four major psychiatric disorders: a mega-analysis study of 5604 subjects and a volumetric data-driven approach for classification.

Differential diagnosis is sometimes difficult in practical psychiatric settings, in terms of using the current diagnostic system based on presenting symptoms and signs. The creation of a novel diagnostic system using objective biomarkers is expected to take place. Neuroimaging studies and others reported that subcortical brain structures are the hubs for various psycho-behavioral functions, while there are so far no neuroimaging data-driven clinical criteria overcoming limitations of the current diagnostic system, which would reflect cognitive/social functioning.

White matter alterations in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): a systematic review of 129 diffusion imaging studies with meta-analysis.

Aberrant anatomical brain connections in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are reported inconsistently across diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) studies. Based on a pre-registered protocol (Prospero: CRD42021259192), we searched PubMed, Ovid, and Web of Knowledge until 26/03/2022 to conduct a systematic review of DWI studies. We performed a quality assessment based on imaging acquisition, preprocessing, and analysis.

Neural correlates of perceptual switching and their association with empathy and alexithymia in individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show limited empathy (poor recognition of others' emotions) and high alexithymia (poor recognition of own emotions and external thinking), which can negatively impact their social functioning. Previous experimental studies suggest that alterations in cognitive flexibility play key roles in the development of these characteristics in ASD. However, the underlying neural mechanisms that link cognitive flexibility and empathy/alexithymia are still largely unknown.

Generalizable neuromarker for autism spectrum disorder across imaging sites and developmental stages: A multi-site study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong condition, and its underlying biological mechanisms remain elusive. The complexity of various factors, including inter-site and development-related differences, makes it challenging to develop generalizable neuroimaging-based biomarkers for ASD. This study used a large-scale, multi-site dataset of 730 Japanese adults to develop a generalizable neuromarker for ASD across independent sites (U.

Distinctive alterations in the mesocorticolimbic circuits in various psychiatric disorders.

Aim: Increasing evidence suggests that psychiatric disorders are linked to alterations in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine-related circuits. However, the common and disease-specific alterations remain to be examined in schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thus, this study aimed to examine common and disease-specific features related to mesocorticolimbic circuits.

Autistic children and adolescents with frequent restricted interest and repetitive behavior showed more difficulty in social cognition during mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multisite survey.

Background: The public health measures enacted in order to control the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have caused considerable changes to daily life. For autistic children and adolescents, adapting to the "new normal," including mask-wearing, may be difficult because of their restricted interest and repetitive behavior (RRB) characteristics. We aimed to examine the relationships between RRB characteristics and the impact of mask-wearing on their social communications during the pandemic.

Intergroup bias in punishing behaviors of adults with autism spectrum disorder.

Groups are essential elements of society, and humans, by nature, commonly manifest intergroup bias (i.e., behave more positively toward an ingroup member than toward an outgroup member).

Decision flexibilities in autism spectrum disorder: an fMRI study of moral dilemmas.

People make flexible decisions across a wide range of contexts to resolve social or moral conflicts. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently report difficulties in such behaviors, which hinders the flexibility in changing strategies during daily activities or adjustment of perspective during communication. However, the underlying mechanisms of this issue are insufficiently understood.

Dimensional distribution of cortical abnormality across antipsychotics treatment-resistant and responsive schizophrenia.

Background: One-third of patients with schizophrenia are treatment-resistant to non-clozapine antipsychotics (TRS), while the rest respond (NTRS). Examining whether TRS and NTRS represent different pathophysiologies is an important step toward precision medicine.

Methods: Focusing on cortical thickness (CT), we analyzed international multi-site cross-sectional datasets of magnetic resonance imaging comprising 110 patients with schizophrenia (NTRS = 46, TRS = 64) and 52 healthy controls (HCs).

Prediction of life satisfaction from resting-state functional connectome.

Background: Better life satisfaction (LS) is associated with better psychological and psychiatric outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have examined prediction models for LS.

Methods: Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) Young Adult S1200 dataset, we examined whether LS is predictable from intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC).