Neural mechanisms of executive dysfunction in ASD

• Project/Area Number: 18K15506
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 52030:Psychiatry-related
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: Takahashi Michio 弘前大学, 保健学研究科, 准教授 (70760891)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2020)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000); Fiscal Year 2020: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: 自閉スペクトラム症 / 遂行機能 / MRI / DTI

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of the present study was to clarify the neural mechanisms of executive dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Therefore, we obtained the data of executive function tests and structural brain imaging from the individual with ASD or typical development.
As a result of comparing the performance of executive function tests between ASD and typical development, it was found that the lower score of the visuospatial working memory and the later performance speed of planning task and cognitive regulation task in ASD compared to typical development. In addition, the later performance speed of the planning task was related to the differences of white matter structure in the right superior frontal gyrus and left insular between ASD and typical development. These results suggest that structural differences in white matter in these regions are involved in the impairment of executive function in ASD.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、遂行機能検査の成績に影響を及ぼし得る様々な要因を統制することで、自閉スペクトラム症の本態的な遂行機能障害について明らかにすると同時に、その神経学的基盤についても解明した。これまでに、ASDの遂行機能障害に対して介入を行うことで、遂行機能障害だけでなく周辺症状も改善することが報告されている。本研究の成果は、自閉スペクトラム症の遂行機能に対する介入の最適化に大きく寄与する可能性があるという点で社会的な意義を有する。

Research Products

• [Int'l Joint Research] Johns Hopkins University(米国)
• [Presentation] The white matter microstructure of basal ganglia related atypical sensory processing in ASD (2019)
  • Author(s): Michio Takahashi, Yuri Matsubara, Shuichi Ono, Kazuhiko Nakamura
  • Organizer: International Society for Autism Research 2019 Annual Meeting
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Yuri Matsubara, Michio Takahashi, Manabu Saito, Shuichi Ono, Kazuhiko Nakamura (2019)
  • Author(s): Reduced Regional Gray Matter Volume in the Frontal lobe may be the Neural Basis Underlying Atypical Sensory Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Organizer: International Society for Autism Research 2019 Annual Meeting
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] 自閉スペクトラム症における 遂行機能障害の神経基盤の解明 (2019)
  • Author(s): 高橋芳雄、松原侑里、中村和彦
  • Organizer: 第45回日本脳科学会