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Cited by 1,016Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesGenetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Identification of autism spectrum disorder using deep learning and the ABIDE dataset

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Heinsfeld, Anibal Sólon, Franco, Alexandre Rosa, Craddock, R. Cameron, Buchweitz, Augusto, Meneguzzi, Felipe·2018·NeuroImage: Clinical
DOI 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.08.017PMC PMC5635344
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Abstract

The goal of the present study was to apply deep learning algorithms to identify autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients from large brain imaging dataset, based solely on the patients brain activation patterns. We investigated ASD patients brain imaging data from a world-wide multi-site database known as ABIDE (Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange). ASD is a brain-based disorder characterized by social deficits and repetitive behaviors. According to recent Centers for Disease Control data, ASD affects one in 68 children in the United States. We investigated patterns of functional connectivity that objectively identify ASD participants from functional brain imaging data, and attempted to unveil the neural patterns that emerged from the classification. The results improved the state-of-the-art by achieving 70% accuracy in identification of ASD versus control patients in the dataset. The patterns that emerged from the classification show an anticorrelation of brain function between anterior and posterior areas of the brain; the anticorrelation corroborates current empirical evidence of anterior-posterior disruption in brain connectivity in ASD. We present the results and identify the areas of the brain that contributed most to differentiating ASD from typically developing controls as per our deep learning model.

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  • Abnormalities in the corpus callosum and interhemispheric connectivity are linked to many neurodevelopmental disorders, including ASD and SCZ.

    “a wealth of evidence links abnormalities in the corpus callosum and interhemispheric connectivity (driven by callosal projection neurons) to many neurodevelopmental disorders, among them ASD and SCZ2,3,111,112.”

    From CYFIP1 governs the development of cortical axons by modulating calcium availability (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

    The paper’s “Neural patterns: connectivity in the autistic brain” section reports disrupted anterior–posterior connectivity in ASD and links that theory to corpus callosum morphometry (page unavailable). It does not establish abnormal interhemispheric connectivity, a role for callosal projection neurons, or a link to schizophrenia or neurodevelopmental disorders generally. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Heinsfeld, A. S., Franco, A. R., Craddock, R. C., Buchweitz, A., & Meneguzzi, F.
Affiliations
  • Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)
  • Instituto do Cérebro (BR)
  • Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (US)
Corresponding author
Meneguzzi, Felipe
ORCID
Venue
NeuroImage: Clinical
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018
Volume
17
Pages
16-23
ISSN
2213-1582 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.nicl.2017.08.017
PMC
PMC5635344
OpenAlex
W2752558629
Cited by
1,016
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 98 · 2025: 159 · 2024: 153 · 2023: 151 · 2022: 135 · 2021: 123 · 2020: 112 · 2019: 62 · 2018: 23
FWCI
30.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • NeuroImage Clinical (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Aberdeen University Research Archive (Aberdeen University) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Ministério da Educação (23038.002530/2013-93, ACERTA CAPES/OBEDUC 0898/2013)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, functional connectivity, brain activation patterns, deep learning classification, ABIDE dataset, neural markers, functional MRI, typically developing controls
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Machine Learning, Adolescent, Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Child, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Male, Neural Pathways, Rest, Case-Control Studies, Neural Networks, Computer, Young Adult, Functional Neuroimaging, Datasets as Topic

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