# Atypical functional connectome hierarchy in autism

Article · Hong SJ, Vos de Wael R, Bethlehem RAI, Lariviere S, Paquola C, Valk SL, Milham MP, Di Martino A, Margulies DS, Smallwood J, Bernhardt BC

- Archive id: doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08944-1
- Published: 2019-03-04
- Venue: Nature communications
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08944-1
- PMID: 30833582
- PMCID: PMC6399265
- Citations: 460
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08944-1
- PDF: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6399265/pdf
- Provenance: europepmc

## Abstract

One paradox of autism is the co-occurrence of deficits in sensory and higher-order socio-cognitive processing. Here, we examined whether these phenotypical patterns may relate to an overarching system-level imbalance-specifically a disruption in macroscale hierarchy affecting integration and segregation of unimodal and transmodal networks. Combining connectome gradient and stepwise connectivity analysis based on task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we demonstrated atypical connectivity transitions between sensory and higher-order default mode regions in a large cohort of individuals with autism relative to typically-developing controls. Further analyses indicated that reduced differentiation related to perturbed stepwise connectivity from sensory towards transmodal areas, as well as atypical long-range rich-club connectivity. Supervised pattern learning revealed that hierarchical features predicted deficits in social cognition and low-level behavioral symptoms, but not communication-related symptoms. Our findings provide new evidence for imbalances in network hierarchy in autism, which offers a parsimonious reference frame to consolidate its diverse features.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)._

Topics: [Connectomics & Brain Mapping](https://space-kitty.com/topics/connectomics)

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