Brain connectivity
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by core sociocommunicative impairments. Atypical intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) has been reported in numerous studies of ASD. A majority of findings has indicated long-distance underconnectivity. ⋯ Our study is the first to identify temporal variability across time as a significant contributing factor to the common finding of static underconnectivity in ASD. Since peak connectivity across time was not significantly reduced in ASD, static underconnectivity findings may have to be reinterpreted, suggesting that connections are not actually "broken" in ASD, but subject to greater intra-individual variability across time. Our findings indicate the need for dynamic approaches to iFC in clinical functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) investigations.
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The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is implicated in pain modulation through multiple psychological processes. Recent noninvasive brain stimulation studies suggest that interhemispheric DLPFC connectivity influences pain tolerance and discomfort by altering interhemispheric inhibition. The structure and role of interhemispheric DLPFC connectivity in pain processing have not been investigated. ⋯ Regression analyses revealed that greater rDLPFC→lDLPFC couplings were associated with higher suprathreshold pain temperatures. These results highlight the role of interhemispheric connectivity in pain modulation and support the preferential role of the right hemisphere in pain processing. Knowledge of these mechanisms may improve understanding of abnormal pain modulation in chronic pain populations.