Alteration of individual morphological brain networks in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder.

This study aims to investigate the altered topological properties of individual morphological brain networks in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to explore their correlation with clinical symptoms. We prospectively recruited 43 preschoolers with ASD and 46 typically developing children (TDC). Based on Kullback-Leibler divergence, morphological brain networks were constructed for all subjects. We analyzed the topological properties of the brain networks in both groups using graph-theoretic methods and examined the correlation between the properties of ASD and clinical symptoms. In comparison to the TDC group, the ASD group exhibited reduced small worldness, along with increased clustering coefficient and local efficiency (q < 0.05). Notable changes in nodal properties included an increase in degree centrality in the left anterior cingulate gyrus and left fusiform gyrus, as well as decreased efficiency indices (p < 0.011). Furthermore, the degree centrality value of the left fusiform gyrus in the ASD group was positively correlated with total scores on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (r = 0.435, uncorrected p = 0.004), as well as with the communication (r = 0.416, uncorrected p = 0.006) and social interaction (r = 0.419, uncorrected p = 0.006) subscale scores. Alterations in individual morphological brain networks in preschool children with ASD suggest their network-level discrepancies in brain development, which may be associated with a difference in social functioning observed in individuals with ASD. The findings of this study offer a neuroimaging clue for investigating the underlying mechanisms of ASD, and provide reference for early identification.