Randomized trial examines network topology differences in children with ASD versus typically developing children, suggesting altered brain connectivity.
Key Points
This study aims to investigate the functional brain network organization during the 40-Hz auditory steady-state response in children with and without autism spectrum disorder.
Examined source-level functional brain networks in 19 children with ASD and 34 typically developing children aged 5–8 years using magnetoencephalography.
Estimated functional connectivity using the phase lag index within the 30–50 Hz band; computed graph-theoretical metrics such as characteristic path length (PL), clustering coefficient (CC), and small-worldness (SW).
Assessed group differences and associations using multiple linear regression adjusted for age, sex, and cognitive ability.
Children with ASD exhibited significantly shorter characteristic path length compared to typically developing children (p = 0.0023).
No group differences were observed for clustering coefficient or small-worldness.
Shorter characteristic path length was associated with higher Social Responsiveness Scale total T-scores (p = 0.027), indicating a link between network topology and autistic traits.