Researchers say they have identified a possible biological cause of disruptive behaviours.
Scientists at Yale University, in the US, say a key mechanism that regulates emotion functions differently in the brains of children with challenging behaviours.
Denis Sukhodolsky, whose study found reduced brain connectivity in children with disruptive behaviours. Image courtesy of Yale School of Medicine
More than one in four children with autism also have a diagnosis of a disruptive behaviour disorder. Among these conditions are oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD).
Reduced connectivity in disruptive behaviours
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans, researchers found reduced connectivity in children with disruptive behaviours.
The reduced connectivity was found between the amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.
The amygdala is buried deep inside the brain, while the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex is found near our temples.
The researchers say the pathway between the two brain regions is critical for regulating emotion.
Potential for developing treatments
Dr Denis Sukhodolsky is a senior author of the research and an associate professor in the Yale Child Study Center.
He said the finding “offers a potential biomarker for developing targeted treatments for irritability and aggression in autism”.
Sukhodolsky said disruptive behaviours are among the main reasons for psychiatric treatment and even hospitalisation among children with autism.
Emotion perception task
In the study, the researchers used an emotion perception task. This allowed them to compare the brain activity of autistic children with disruptive behaviours to those without such behaviours.
While in the scanner, the researchers asked the children to view pictures of human faces that displayed calm or fearful expressions.
Dr Karim Ibrahim was the first author of the research.
He said the reduced connectivity was “uniquely associated with disruptive behaviour, but not with severity of social deficits or anxiety”.
Ibrahim said this suggests a “distinct brain network that could be separate from core autism symptoms”.
The researchers published their study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.
Related:
- School behaviour policies may break law
- Legal fight over exclusion for behaviour
- Gene link found to autistic behaviours
- Study calls for interventions for adults
Published: 4 May 2019
