Researchers Identify 2 Brain-Based Autism Subtypes in 940 People, Linking Them to Synaptic and Immune Pathways
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Jun 7
Researchers Identify 2 Brain-Based Autism Subtypes in 940 People, Linking Them to Synaptic and Immune Pathways
3 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Jun 7
Summary
Brain scans from 940 children and young adults with autism revealed two reproducible subtypes—hyperconnectivity and hypoconnectivity—marking different patterns of communication across the brain.
Twenty genetically engineered mouse models helped map those imaging patterns to biology: hypoconnectivity tracked synaptic pathways, while hyperconnectivity aligned with immune-related systems.
The two groups accounted for about 25% of autistic participants and were confirmed across multiple independent datasets against scans from more than 1,000 neurotypical individuals.
Nature Neuroscience published the study, which researchers say could support more personalized autism diagnosis and treatment, though they expect additional biological subtypes to emerge.
If brain connectivity defines two autism subtypes, what biological secrets do the other 75% of individuals hold?
Beyond new treatments, could biologically subtyping autism lead to new forms of social stigma or division?
With autism's biological subtypes now identified, how long until targeted treatments become available in clinics?
Autism Spectrum Disorder Revealed as Two Mechanistically Distinct Brain Subtypes: Implications for Personalized Medicine
Overview
A major study published in May 2024 in Nature Neuroscience, led by teams from the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and the Child Mind Institute, has identified two distinct brain-based subtypes of autism spectrum disorder. This discovery marks a shift from viewing autism as a single condition to recognizing unique subtypes, each linked to different biological pathways and observable through specific patterns of brain connectivity. The research highlights that autism is not generic, but consists of mechanistically distinct forms, paving the way for more personalized diagnosis and treatment based on individual brain biology.