Abstract：
In the current study, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine functional connectivity (FC) in relation to measures of cognitive flexibility and autistic features in non-autistic children. Previous research suggests that disruptions in FC between brain regions may underlie the cognitive and behavioral traits of autism. Moreover, research has identified a broader autistic phenotype (BAP), which refers to a set of behavioral traits that fall along a continuum of behaviors typical for autism but which do not cross a clinically relevant threshold. Thus, by examining FC in relation to the BAP in non-autistic children, we can better understand the spectrum of behaviors related to this condition and their neural basis. Results indicated age-related differences in performance across three measures of cognitive flexibility, as expected given the rapid development of this skill within this time period. Additionally, results showed that across the flexibility tasks, measures of autistic traits were associated with weaker FC along the executive control network, though task performance was not associated with FC. These results suggest that behavioral scores may be less sensitive than neural measures to autistic traits. Further, these results corroborate the use of broader autistic traits and the BAP to better understand disruptions to neural function associated with autism.
摘要：
在目前的研究中,我们使用功能近红外光谱(fNIRS)检测了非自闭症儿童的功能连接(FC)与认知灵活性和自闭症特征的关系.先前的研究表明，大脑区域之间的FC中断可能是自闭症的认知和行为特征的基础。此外，研究已经确定了更广泛的自闭症表型(BAP)，这是指一系列行为特征，这些行为特征落在自闭症典型的连续行为中，但不超过临床相关的阈值。因此，通过检查非自闭症儿童与BAP相关的FC，我们可以更好地理解与这种情况相关的行为谱及其神经基础。结果表明，三种认知灵活性衡量标准的表现与年龄相关的差异，正如预期的那样，鉴于这一技能在这段时间内的快速发展。此外,结果表明，在整个灵活性任务中，自闭症特征的测量与执行控制网络上较弱的FC相关，尽管任务性能与FC无关。这些结果表明，行为得分对自闭症特征的敏感性可能不如神经测量敏感。Further,这些结果证实了使用更广泛的自闭症特征和BAP来更好地了解与自闭症相关的神经功能破坏。
