ArticleMolecular autism2021
Autistic traits and individual brain differences: functional network efficiency reflects attentional and social impairments, structural nodal efficiencies index systemising and theory-of-mind skills.
Article in Molecular autism, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Alteration of individual morphological brain networks in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder.Brain imaging and behavior · 2026Article
- Atypical Resting-State EEG Graph Metrics of Network Efficiency Across Development in Autism and Their Association with Social Cognition: Results from the LEAP Study.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Temporally-resolved deep learning reveals autism symptom-specific neural signatures during naturalistic social experiences.Research square · 2026Article
- Sex Similarities and Differences in Brain Dynamic Functional Connectivity Among Individuals With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Behavioral and neural interrelationships of sensory difficulties, intolerance of uncertainty, and anxiety in autistic children.Research in autism · 2025Article
- Effects of different AI-driven Chatbot feedback on learning outcomes and brain activity.NPJ science of learning · 2025Article
- Oxytocin modulation of resting-state functional connectivity network topology in individuals with higher autistic traits.Psychoradiology · 2025Article
- Developing an Attention Assessment Tool for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Timbre, Rhythm, and Pitch.Journal of Korean medical science · 2023Article
- Phenotypic Trade-Offs: Deciphering the Impact of Neurodiversity on Drug Development in Fragile X Syndrome.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 6 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAutism is characterised not only by impaired social cognitive 'empathising' but also by superior rule-based 'systemising'. These cognitive domains intertwine within the categorical diagnosis of autism, yet behavioural genetics suggest largely independent heritability, and separable brain mechanisms. We sought to determine whether quantitative behavioural measures of autistic traits are dimensionally associated with structural and functional brain network integrity, and whether brain bases of autistic traits vary independently across individuals.
methodsThirty right-handed neurotypical adults (12 females) were administered psychometric (Social Responsiveness Scale, Autism Spectrum Quotient and Systemising Quotient) and behavioural (Attention Network Test and theory-of-mind reaction time) measures of autistic traits, and structurally (diffusion tensor imaging) and functionally (500 s of 2 Hz eyes-closed resting fMRI) derived graph-theoretic measures of efficiency of information integration were computed throughout the brain and within subregions.
resultsSocial impairment was positively associated with functional efficiency (r = .47, p = .006), globally and within temporo-parietal and prefrontal cortices. Delayed orienting of attention likewise was associated with greater functional efficiency (r = - .46, p = .0133). Systemising was positively associated with global structural efficiency (r = .38, p = 0.018), driven specifically by temporal pole; theory-of-mind reaction time was related to structural efficiency (r = - .40, p = 0.0153) within right supramarginal gyrus. LIMITATIONS: Interpretation of these relationships is complicated by the many senses of the term 'connectivity', including functional, structural and computational; by the approximation inherent in group functional anatomical parcellations when confronted with individual variation in functional anatomy; and by the validity, sensitivity and specificity of the several survey and experimental behavioural measures applied as correlates of brain structure and function.
conclusionsFunctional connectivities highlight distributed networks associated with domain-general properties such as attentional orienting and social cognition broadly, associating more impaired behaviour with more efficient brain networks that may reflect heightened feedforward information flow subserving autistic strengths and deficits alike. Structural connectivity results highlight specific anatomical nodes of convergence, reflecting cognitive and neuroanatomical independence of systemising and theory-of-mind. In addition, this work shows that individual differences in theory-of-mind related to brain structure can be measured behaviourally, and offers neuroanatomical evidence to pin down the slippery construct of 'systemising' as the capacity to construct invariant contextual associations.
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