Atypical functional connectivity of temporal cortex with precuneus and visual regions may be an early-age signature of ASD

ConclusionsSuperior temporal cortex is known to have reduced activation to social affective speech in ASD  at early ages, and here we find in ASD toddlers that it also has atypical connectivity with visual and precuneus cortices that is correlated with communication and language ability, a pattern not seen in non-ASD toddlers. This atypicality may be an early-age signature of ASD that also explains wh y the disorder has deviant early language and social development. Given that these atypical connectivity patterns are also present in older individuals with ASD, we conclude these atypical connectivity patterns persist across age and may explain why successful interventions targeting language and s ocial skills at all ages in ASD are so difficult to achieve.
Source: Molecular Autism - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research