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. 2023 Jul 11;10(7):ENEURO.0146-23.2023. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0146-23.2023

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Local neural dynamics and global brain state dynamics. A, To identify brain areas that induced atypical brain state dynamics in the pure ADHD and ASD+ADHD children, we examined the intrinsic neural timescales for all the brain regions. The neural timescale was defined as the area under the curve of the autocorrelation function. Brain areas with shorter neural timescales are thought to be sensitive to neural inputs and likely to exhibit an unstable and fluctuating neural signal. B, For each of the participant groups, we obtained an average whole-brain map of the intrinsic neural timescale. C, D, In the pure ADHD children, only the left inferior parietal sulcus (IPS) showed a significantly shorter neural timescale compared with the TD individuals (pFDR < 0.05; C). The neural timescale of the brain area was also shorter than that of the pure ASD and ASD+ADHD groups (D). E, This atypically shorter neural timescale in the left IPS in the pure ADHD children was correlated with their atypically frequent A–[C/D–E/F]–B transition. F, A mediation analysis demonstrated that, in the pure ADHD individuals, their atypically shorter intrinsic neural timescale in the left IPS induced their frequent transition along the A–[C/D–E/F]–B pathway, which resulted in their hyperactive behavior. G, H, In the ASD+ADHD children, the neural timescales in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were significantly shorter than those of the pure ASD group (pFDR < 0.05; G), those of the pure ADHD children and those of the corresponding TD individuals (H). I, Among the three regions, only the neural timescale of the left SFG showed a significant correlation with the atypical A–C–F–B transition frequency in the ASD+ADHD children. J, A mediation analysis indicated that the short neural timescale of the left SFG induced the frequent A–C–F–B transition, which reduced the cognitive rigidity in the ASD+ADHD individuals. The significantly large values of the α, β, and γ validate our application of the mediation analysis to the current datasets. The statistical significance of the α×β (indirect effect) and the insignificance of the γ’ support our conclusions. †pBonferroni < 0.05 in a two-way ANOVA. *pBonferroni < 0.05 in a two-sample t test.