Autism and sensory processing disorders: shared white matter disruption in sensory pathways but divergent connectivity in social–emotional pathways
Open accessAbstract
Over 90% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) demonstrate atypical sensory behaviors. In fact, hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment is now included in the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. However, there are children with sensory processing differences who do not meet an ASD diagnosis but do show atypical sensory behaviors to the same or greater degree as ASD children. We previously demonstrated that children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) have impaired white matter microstructure, and that this white matter microstructural pathology correlates with atypical sensory behavior. In this study, we use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fiber tractography to evaluate the structural connectivity of specific white matter tracts in boys with ASD (n = 15) and boys with SPD (n = 16), relative to typically developing children (n = 23). We define white matter tracts using probabilistic streamline tractography and assess the strength of tract connectivity using mean fractional anisotropy. Both the SPD and ASD cohorts demonstrate decreased connectivity relative to controls in parieto-occipital tracts involved in sensory perception and multisensory integration. However, the ASD group alone shows impaired connectivity, relative to controls, in temporal tracts thought to subserve social-emotional processing. In addition to these group difference analyses, we take a dimensional approach to assessing the relationship between white matter connectivity and participant function. These correlational analyses reveal significant associations of white matter connectivity with auditory processing, working memory, social skills, and inattention across our three study groups. These findings help elucidate the roles of specific neural circuits in neurodevelopmental disorders, and begin to explore the dimensional relationship between critical cognitive functions and structural connectivity across affected and unaffected children.
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Fractional anisotropy is reduced in ASD compared to TD in parieto-occipital tracts.
“parieto-occipital tracts (Chang et al., 2014)”
From Behavioral, Perceptual, and Neural Alterations in Sensory and Multisensory Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder (2015) · cites this paper as Chang et al., 2014
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- Authors
- Chang, Y.-S., Owen, J. P., Desai, S. S., Hill, S. S., Arnett, A. B., Harris, J., Marco, E. J., & Mukherjee, P.
- Affiliations
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Marco, Elysa J.
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2014-07-30
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- e103038
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4116166
- OpenAlex
- W2048431684
- Cited by
- 149
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 5.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Simons Foundation
- National Institutes of Health (NIH-R01, KL2TR000143, RR024130)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH083890)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS060776)
- National Center for Research Resources (KL2RR024130)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorders, white matter connectivity, sensory pathways, social-emotional processing, fractional anisotropy, auditory processing, working memory, social skills, inattention, dimensional approach, neurodevelopmental disorders
- MeSH terms
- Autistic Disorder, Child, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Perceptual Disorders, Social Behavior, Connectome, White Matter
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