Brain morphological changes in autism spectrum disorder related to multiple behavioral spectrums: a behavioral-causal structural covariance network analysis

This study examined gray matter volume changes in 131 autistic and 246 neurotypical individuals, identifying two distinct neuroanatomical ASD subtypes with different patterns of brain structural alterations. Using a novel behavioral-causal structural covariance network approach, researchers found heterogeneous causal relationships between gray matter changes and behavioral domains (social, cognitive, affective) across ASD subtypes.