Dynamic functional connectivity in the right temporoparietal junction captures variations in autistic trait expression

BackgroundAutistic individuals can experience difficulties with attention reorienting and Theory of Mind (ToM), which are closely associated with anterior and posterior subdivisions of the right temporoparietal junction. While the link between these processes remains unclear it is likely subserved by a dynamic crosstalk between these two subdivisions. We therefore examined the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) between the anterior and posterior TPJ, as a biological marker of attention and ToM, to test its contribution to the manifestation of autistic trait expression in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). MethodsTwo studies were conducted, exploratory (14 ASD, 15 TD) and replication (29 ASD, 29 TD), using resting-state fMRI data and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) from the ABIDE repository. Dynamic Independent Component Analysis was performed in both datasets using the CONN toolbox. An additional sliding-window analysis was performed in the replication study to explore different connectivity states (from highly negatively to highly positively correlated). Resultsdynamic FC was reduced in ASD compared to TD adults in both the exploratory and replication datasets and was associated with increased SRS scores (especially in ASD). Additional regression analyses revealed that for ASD, decreased SRS autistic expression was predicted by engagement of highly negatively correlated states, while engagement of highly positively correlated states predicted increased expression. ConclusionsThese findings provided consistent evidence that the difficulties observed in ASD are associated with altered patterns of dFC between brain regions subserving attention reorienting and ToM processes.