EEG-Based Assessment of Functional Connectivity in Autism

描述（由申请人提供）：有大量数据表明，大脑连接的改变是自闭症神经生物学的一个关键方面。然而，大脑连通性改变在自闭症核心损伤产生中的作用尚未完全了解。在自闭症的损伤中，运动功能是神经生物学研究的一个很好的候选者。尤其是在自闭症中，实践异常是一个强有力的和重复的发现，并且已经很好地表征了行为。此外，实践行为比复杂的交际和社会行为的许多方面更容易量化和实验控制。实践技能已被证明与交际和社会行为的临床测量相关联。此外，作为实践功能基础的大脑机制也得到了很好的理解。具体来说，下皮层顶叶区域、运动前皮层区域以及两者之间的连接对于实践功能是必要的。脑电图（EEG）已被成功地用于研究有或无失用症的成年人与实践相关的大脑连通性，但尚未用于儿童或自闭症患者。当前应用程序中提出的研究将使用基于脑电图的技术解决大脑连接改变在自闭症中的作用，并将这些神经生物学改变与受损的运动表现和受损的社交和沟通表现联系起来。具体目的是：(1)表征儿童实践的功能网络；(2)证明自闭症儿童在执行实践任务时大脑连通性的改变；(3)评估大脑连通性改变与运动、社交和沟通能力之间的关系。该项目是作为儿童神经学家PI职业发展计划的一部分提出的，以获得高级脑电图信号分析，研究设计和系统神经科学方面的培训。肯尼迪克里格研究所和约翰霍普金斯大学拥有世界一流的生物医学工程、生物统计学和临床部门，为PI成为研究自闭症和其他神经发育障碍的大脑行为关系的独立研究者提供了一个特殊的环境。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There are substantial data to suggest that altered cerebral connectivity is a key aspect of the neurobiology of autism. Nevertheless, the role of altered cerebral connectivity in the production of the core impairments of autism has is not yet fully understood. Of the impairments in autism, motor function is an excellent candidate for neurobiological study. Praxis abnormalities in particular are a robust and replicated finding in autism and have been well characterized behaviorally. Additionally, praxis behavior can be more easily quantified and experimentally controlled than can many aspects of complex communicative and social behavior. Praxis skill has been shown to correlate with clinical measures of communicative and social behavior. Further, the cerebral mechanisms that underlie praxis function are well understood. Specifically, inferior cortical parietal regions, premotor cortical regions and the connectivity between the two are known to be necessary for praxis function. The electroencephalogram (EEG) has been used successfully to study cerebral connectivity associated with praxis in adults with and without apraxia, however it has not yet been employed in children or in individuals with autism. The research proposed in the current application will address the role of altered cerebral connectivity in autism using EEG-based techniques and will relate these neurobiological alterations to impaired motor performance and impaired social and communicative performance. The specific aims are (1) to characterize the functional network subserving praxis in children, (2) to demonstrate alterations of cerebral connectivity in children with autism during performance of praxis tasks, and (3) to assess the relationship between altered cerebral connectivity and motor, social and communicative ability. This project is proposed as part of a career development plan for the PI, a child neurologist, to obtain training in advanced EEG signal analysis, study design and systems neuroscience. The Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University have world-class Biomedical Engineering, Biostatistics and clinical departments that provide an exceptional environment to enable the PI to become an independent investigator studying brain-behavior relationships in autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.