Abstract
Growing evidence supports functional network alterations in autism spectrum disorder, however much less is known about the neural mechanisms underlying autistic traits in typically developing children. Using resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings, we examined whether functional connectivity could predict autistic trait expression in 127 children aged between 4-12 years. Regression models showed that right anterior theta connectivity was a significant predictor of autistic traits (p = 0.013), with increased connectivity in this region associated with greater autistic trait expression. These results corroborate similar recent findings in adults, extending this observation to a cohort of children spanning early-to-middle childhood. These findings further highlight EEG-derived functional connectivity as a sensitive physiological correlate of autistic trait expression in neurotypical children.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Declarations: ATH was supported by an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. PGE received funding from a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council (FT160100077). The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.