title: Resting-State Functional Connectivity Changes Between Dentate Nucleus and Cortical Social Brain Regions in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
abstract: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are known to be characterized by restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests and by impairments in social communication and interactions mainly including "theory of mind" (ToM) processes. The cerebellum has emerged as one of the brain regions affected by ASDs. As the cerebellum is known to influence cerebral cortex activity via cerebello-thalamo-cortical (CTC) circuits, it has been proposed that cerebello-cortical "disconnection" could in part underlie autistic symptoms. We used resting-state (RS) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the potential RS connectivity changes between the cerebellar dentate nucleus (DN) and the CTC circuit targets, that may contribute to ASD pathophysiology. When comparing ASD patients to controls, we found decreased connectivity between the left DN and cerebral regions known to be components of the ToM network and the default mode network, implicated in specific aspects of mentalizing, social cognition processing, and higher order emotional processes. Further, a pattern of overconnectivity was also detected between the left DN and the supramodal cerebellar lobules associated with the default mode network. The presented RS-fMRI data provide evidence that functional connectivity (FC) between the dentate nucleus and the cerebral cortex is altered in ASD patients. This suggests that the dysfunction reported within the cerebral cortical network, typically related to social features of ASDs, may be at least partially related to an impaired interaction between cerebellum and key cortical social brain regions.
authors.affiliation: Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.|Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giusy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Olivito
authors.affiliation: Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.|Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clausi
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fiorenzo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Laghi
authors.affiliation: Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.|Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Tedesco
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baiocco
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mastropasqua
authors.affiliation: Neurological and Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Department A, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.|Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RR, Brighton, UK.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cercignani
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozzali
authors.affiliation: Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy. maria.leggio@uniroma1.it.|Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. maria.leggio@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leggio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002529:Cerebellar Nuclei / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D012146:Rest; D012919:Social Behavior; D056345:Theory of Mind; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cerebellum; Cerebral cortex; Default mode network; Social cognition; Theory of mind