title: [Autism and neural connectivity].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent studies have investigated functional and structural brain connectivity in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Neuroimaging and electroencephalographic studies have found evidences suggesting that connectivity patterns are altered in ASD.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To review recent works from structural and functional neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies, and to provide a summary of advances in research implicating disordered connectivity in ASD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Functional findings reveal that patients with ASD have deficit in long-distance connections (under-connectivity), with a most prominent deficit in fronto-posterior connections. With regard to structural connectivity there is evidence of disruption to inter-hemispheric white matter structures. Less functional studies reveal that patients with ASD also have an excess of local connections (over-connectivity), but findings from structural studies are considerably more inconsistent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The converging findings of functional connectivity abnormalities and white matter abnormalities in autism suggest that alterations in neural connectivity and the communication between different brain regions may be involved in behavioral and cognitive deficits associated with autism.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Orientacion y Asistencia al Desarrollo Infantil (COADI), Barcelona, Spain. mpalaubaduell@gmail.com
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palau-Baduell
authors.forename: Berta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Salvadó-Salvadó
authors.forename: Mariona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clofent-Torrentó
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valls-Santasusana
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D056784:Leukoencephalopathies / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059906:Neuroimaging