title: Aberrant striatal functional connectivity in children with autism.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Models of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as neural disconnection syndromes have been predominantly supported by examinations of abnormalities in corticocortical networks in adults with autism. A broader body of research implicates subcortical structures, particularly the striatum, in the physiopathology of autism. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging has revealed detailed maps of striatal circuitry in healthy and psychiatric populations and vividly captured maturational changes in striatal circuitry during typical development.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined striatal functional connectivity (FC) in 20 children with ASD and 20 typically developing children between the ages of 7.6 and 13.5 years. Whole-brain voxelwise statistical maps quantified within-group striatal FC and between-group differences for three caudate and three putamen seeds for each hemisphere.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with ASD mostly exhibited prominent patterns of ectopic striatal FC (i.e., functional connectivity present in ASD but not in typically developing children), with increased functional connectivity between nearly all striatal subregions and heteromodal associative and limbic cortex previously implicated in the physiopathology of ASD (e.g., insular and right superior temporal gyrus). Additionally, we found striatal functional hyperconnectivity with the pons, thus expanding the scope of functional alterations implicated in ASD. Secondary analyses revealed ASD-related hyperconnectivity between the pons and insula cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Examination of FC of striatal networks in children with ASD revealed abnormalities in circuits involving early developing areas, such as the brainstem and insula, with a pattern of increased FC in ectopic circuits that likely reflects developmental derangement rather than immaturity of functional circuits.
authors.affiliation: Phyllis Green and Randolph Cōwen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, Child Study Center, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Martino
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grzadzinski
authors.forename: Xi-Nian
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mennes
authors.forename: Maria Angeles
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mairena
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.forename: F Xavier
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Castellanos
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Milham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology