BEAUTIPHUL MIND · Brain-based Evaluation of Autism Phenotypes Using Longitudinal, Multimodal Imaging Data
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-09-01 → 2023-10-01
- EU contribution
- €191,149
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Brain-based Evaluation of Autism Phenotypes Using Longitudinal, Multimodal Imaging Data
Autism is a common neurodevelopmental condition with social-commuication challenges and restricted repetitive behaviours. It is exclusively diagnosed based on symptoms which vary considerably across individuals. Little progress has been made in identifying objective, biological markers informative of core features to support targeted clinical management. This is due to a lack of understanding the complex etiology involving different neurobiological systems underlying heterogeneous conditions like autism. In recent years, novel neuroimaging techniques have provided noninvasively a window into the structural and functional properties of the brain and are well suited to explore biomarkers. However, the prevailing approach in research is to identify clinical commonalities across patients (i.e., average group-differences) confined to single biological measures (i.e., unimodal) which has fallen short of acknowledging inter-individual heterogeneity and system-level biology. Here, I aimed to study different, complementary aspects of the brain simultaneously at the individual level in a large, deeply phenotyped sample, to identify a more fine-grained picture of associated neural features of core symptoms, such as face processing, in autism. Different neuroimaging markers within key regions of the face processing network, such as the fusiform gyrus (FFG), have previously been studied extensively across single modalities. However, how different neurobiological markers are simultaneously implicated in face processing and social functioning in autism remains elusive. Integrating data from multiple modalities is crucial to uncover the intricate links between brain structure and function. The overarching objective of this project was to establish an individual-level, multimodal characterization of the neural substrates of face processing in autism informative of different social features associated with autism. The development of objective, biological markers is pivotal for overcoming the urgent, unmet medical need for tailored interventions. Results suggest that the FFG is a central region differentially implicated in autistic and non-autistic individuals (NAI) across different biological levels simultaneously informing mechanisms associated with social functioning in autism. Integrating data from different modalities has the advantage of being biologically more plausible and comprehensive in characterizing complex, heterogenous conditions and is the most promising and powerful method to achieve significant advances in our understanding of system-level atypicalities in autism.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Methodological developments have equipped scientists with unprecedented opportunities to characterize brain structure and functional organization and relate it to behaviour. Yet to date, no clinically relevant tools, grounded in this neurobiology, have been developed that inform clinical outcomes in psychiatric disorders. Specifically, in autism – one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions – there is still little knowledge about the neurobiological underpinnings of different clinical outcomes with regard to core symptoms and adaptive daily living skills. While some individuals worsen, others do better over time. Like in many realms of medicine where biomarkers have revolutionized treatment, there is also an urgent need to develop such neurobiologically-grounded predictors for clinical outcomes in autism. To date, the majority of studies have analysed small, cross-sectional samples across single neuroimaging modalities with case-control comparisons to find mean group effects. However, this standard approach ignores the large sample variation in autism. The overarching objective of my MSCA Fellowship is to establish a multimodal, longitudinal characterization of the individual neurobiological signatures that are predictive of clinical outcomes in autism. I will integrate both structural and functional neuroimaging modalities for a fine-grained characterization of the neural phenotypes in autism. Using normative modelling, I will characterize at the level of the individual (rather than with group averages) how each individual with autism is different from the neurotypical pattern of such a multimodal brain characterization and how it relates to behaviour, genetic risk and clinical outcome. This novel approach has the potential to transform clinical management in autism, leading to the development of neuroscientifically-informed, targeted interventions. I will also provide the research community with novel tools that pave the way for precision medicine.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITAT ZURICH · ZurichCoordinatorSwitzerland
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union