Dynamic functional connectivity in the attention networks captures variations in Autistic trait expression

Abstract

Autistic individuals often experience atypicalities in attention control mechanisms, primarily with Attentional Focus and Attention Reorientation. These attention processes are closely associated with the Left Intraparietal Sulcus (on behalf of the Dorsal Attention Network) and the right anterior Temporoparietal Junction (on behalf of the Ventral A5en+on Network), respec+vely. The link between these two brain regions remains unclear, however, there likely exists a dynamic crosstalk between these two regions, affecting these attention control processes. We examined the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) between the Left Intraparietal Sulcus (Left IPS) and the right anterior Temporoparietal Junction (raTPJ), as a biological marker of association between Attentional Focus and Attentional Disengagement, to test its contribution to the manifestation of autistic trait expression in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study was conducted on a resting-state fMRI dataset consisting of 58 participants (29 ASD, 29 TD), obtained from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) repository. A sliding-window analysis was performed on this dataset to identify different connectivity states (from highly negatively correlated to highly positively correlated) followed by quantifying FC by measuring connectivity indices including proportion, mean dwell time, and probability of transition. We observed that autistic trait expression was significantly positively correlated with a higher proportion of, dwell time in, and probability of transitioning to, the highpositive correlated state in the ASD group. However, decreased SRS autistic expression was predicted by high-negative correlated state engagement. The total number of transi+ons was nega+vely correlated with au+s+c trait expression in the ASD group. These findings provide evidence that the a5en+onal difficul+es observed in ASD are associated with alterations in the patterns of dynamic functional connectivity between the brain regions responsible for attentional focus and attentional reorientation processes.