Effects of mini-basketball training program on social communication impairments and regional homogeneity of brain functions in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Social communication impairments (SCI) is a core symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is marked by challenges in social interaction. Although physical exercise has been shown to improve SCI, this finding has not been supported by comprehensive scientific evidence. Existing research has established a strong link between the SCI in children with ASD and abnormalities in regional homogeneity (ReHo). Therefore, investigating the effects of physical exercise on SCI and Reho in patients with ASD may help to elucidate the neurological mechanisms involved. METHODS: The present study included 30 preschool children diagnosed with ASD, with 15 participants in each group (experimental and control). The experimental group underwent a 12-week mini-basketball training program (MBTP) based on routine behavioral rehabilitation, while the control group only received routine behavioral rehabilitation. The Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition (SRS-2) was employed to assess SCI in both groups. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging technology was used to evaluate ReHo in both groups. RESULTS: After 12-week of MBTP, significant group × time interactions were observed between the experimental and control groups in total SRS-2 scores (F = 14.514, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.341), as well as in the domains of social cognition (F = 15.620, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.358), social communication (F = 12.460, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.308), and autistic mannerisms (F = 9.970, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.263). No statistical difference was found in the scores for the social awareness subscale and social motivation subscale in the group × time interaction (all p > 0.05). The experimental group exhibited increased ReHo in the right Cerebellum_Crus1 and right parahippocampal gyrus, coupled with decreased ReHo in the left middle frontal gyrus (orbital part), left superior frontal gyrus (dorsolateral), left postcentral gyrus, and right superior parietal gyrus. Furthermore, a decrease in ReHo in the left postcentral gyrus positively correlated with changes in social communication scores in SCI behaviors (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study underscores the effectiveness of a 12-week MBTP in ameliorating SCI and abnormalities in ReHo among preschool children with ASD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is retrospectively registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900024973; August 5, 2019).

Recreational ball games are effective in improving social communication impairments among preschoolers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: a multi-arm controlled study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the effects of two 12-week training intervention experimental ball games combined with standard behavioral rehabilitation against a control group solely utilizing standard behavioral rehabilitation on social communication impairments (SCI) in preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). METHODS: A multi-arm controlled study design was implemented, involving 41 children diagnosed with ASD (mean age: 4.99 ± 0.76 years). 41 participants were randomized assigned to two experimental groups and a control group, The experimental group carried out ball combination training program group (BCTP) and mini-basketball training program group (MBTP) on the basis of routine behavioral rehabilitation, which underwent 12-week training interventions 5 times a week. The control group (n = 14) received only standard behavioral rehabilitation. Evaluations were conducted before and after interventions using the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2). RESULTS: The results suggest that both 12-week interventions, BCTP, and MBTP, led to significant improvements in social communication impairment among children with ASD (p < 0.05). Despite enhancing the overall scores on the SRS-2, these interventions displayed varying impacts across different sub-dimensions. BCTP primarily exhibited significant enhancements in social awareness and behavior pattern (p < 0.05), whereas MBTP significantly improved social cognition and social communication (p < 0.05). Both interventions showed slight improvements in social motivation. CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of recreational ball games has showed to be effective in decreasing the impairment levels of children with ASD, while the control group experienced a worsening of outcomes. This suggests that irrespective of the specific ball game strategy employed, both can be employed on a weekly basis to complement standard behavioral rehabilitation and enhance the ability to improve the quality of life for children diagnosed with ASD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is retrospectively registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900024973;August 5, 2019).

Enhanced Integrity of White Matter Microstructure in Mind-Body Practitioners: A Whole-Brain Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study.

Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is an increasingly popular multimodal mind-body practice with potential cognitive benefits, yet the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these effects, particularly in relation to brain white matter (WM) microstructure, remain largely unknown. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the attention network test (ANT) to compare 22 TCC practitioners and 18 healthy controls. We found extensive differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) between the two groups. Specifically, TCC practitioners had significantly different diffusion metrics in the corticospinal tract (CST), fornix (FX)/stria terminalis (ST), and cerebral peduncle (CP). We also observed a significant correlation between increased FA values in the right CP and ANT performance in TCC practitioners. Our findings suggest that optimized regional WM microstructure may contribute to the complex information processing associated with TCC practice, providing insights for preventing cognitive decline and treating neurological disorders with cognitive impairment in clinical rehabilitation.

Relationship between Overweight/Obesity and Social Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder Children: Mediating Effect of Gray Matter Volume.

With advances in medical diagnostic technology, the healthy development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is receiving more and more attention. In this article, the mediating effect of brain gray matter volume (GMV) between overweight/obesity and social communication (SC) was investigated through the analysis of the relationship between overweight/obesity and SC in autism spectrum disorder children. In total, 101 children with ASD aged 3-12 years were recruited from three special educational centers (Yangzhou, China). Overweight/obesity in children with ASD was indicated by their body mass index (BMI); the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) was used to assess their social interaction ability, and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) was used to measure GMV. A mediation model was constructed using the Process plug-in to analyze the mediating effect of GMV between overweight/obesity and SC in children with ASD. The results revealed that: overweight/obesity positively correlated with SRS-2 total points (p = 0.01); gray matter volume in the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus (Frontal_Sup_L GMV) negatively correlated with SRS-2 total points (p = 0.001); and overweight/obesity negatively correlated with Frontal_Sup_L GMV (p = 0.001). The Frontal_Sup_L GMV played a partial mediating role in the relationship between overweight/obesity and SC, accounting for 36.6% of total effect values. These findings indicate the significant positive correlation between overweight/obesity and SC; GMV in the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus plays a mediating role in the relationship between overweight/obesity and SC. The study may provide new evidence toward comprehensively revealing the overweight/obesity and SC relationship.

Supervised machine learning: A new method to predict the outcomes following exercise intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder.

The individual differences among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may make it challenging to achieve comparable benefits from a specific exercise intervention program. A new method for predicting the possible outcomes and maximizing the benefits of exercise intervention for children with ASD needs further exploration. Using the mini-basketball training program (MBTP) studies to improve the symptom performance of children with ASD as an example, we used the supervised machine learning method to predict the possible intervention outcomes based on the individual differences of children with ASD, investigated and validated the efficacy of this method. In a long-term study, we included 41 ASD children who received the MBTP. Before the intervention, we collected their clinical information, behavioral factors, and brain structural indicators as candidate factors. To perform the regression and classification tasks, the random forest algorithm from the supervised machine learning method was selected, and the cross validation method was used to determine the reliability of the prediction results. The regression task was used to predict the social communication impairment outcome following the MBTP in children with ASD, and explainable variance was used to evaluate the predictive performance. The classification task was used to distinguish the core symptom outcome groups of ASD children, and predictive performance was assessed based on accuracy. We discovered that random forest models could predict the outcome of social communication impairment (average explained variance was 30.58%) and core symptom (average accuracy was 66.12%) following the MBTP, confirming that the supervised machine learning method can predict exercise intervention outcomes for children with ASD. Our findings provide a novel and reliable method for identifying ASD children most likely to benefit from a specific exercise intervention program in advance and a solid foundation for establishing a personalized exercise intervention program recommendation system for ASD children.

Decreased Functional and Structural Connectivity is Associated with Core Symptom Improvement in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder After Mini-basketball Training Program.

Exercise intervention has been proven helpful to ameliorate core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we carried out a 12-week mini-basketball training program (MBTP) on ASD children and examined the changes of brain functional and structural networks before and after exercise intervention. We applied individual-based method to construct functional network and structural morphological network, and investigated their alterations following MBTP as well as their associations with the change in core symptom. Structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI data were obtained from 58 ASD children aged 3-12 years (experiment group: n = 32, control group: n = 26). ASD children who received MBTP intervention showed several distinguishable alternations compared to the control without special intervention. These included decreased functional connectivity within the sensorimotor network (SM) and between SM and the salience network, decreased morphological connectivity strength in a cortical-cortical network centered on the left inferior temporal gyrus, and a subcortical-cortical network centered on the left caudate. Particularly, the aforementioned functional and structural changes induced by MBTP were associated with core symptoms of ASD. Our findings suggested that MBTP intervention could be an effective approach to improve core symptoms in ASD children, decrease connectivity in both structure and function networks, and may drive the brain change towards normal-like neuroanatomy.

Relationship between Physical Activity and Emotional Regulation Strategies in Early Adulthood: Mediating Effects of Cortical Thickness.

We investigated the relationship between physical activity (PA) and emotional regulation strategies among college students to establish the mediating role of cortical thickness. A total of 60 university students (18−20 years old) were enrolled in this study. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-L) was used to estimate PA levels. Based on the International Physical Activity Working Group standards, PA levels were divided into low, medium, and high PA groups; emotional regulation strategies were determined by the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), including the Cognitive Reappraisal Scale (CR) and the Expressive Suppression Scale (ES). Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure cortical thickness. Differences in use of the ES strategy among high, medium, and low PA groups were not marked. However, compared to the low PA group, the CR strategy was frequently used in the high PA group, with a thicker right hemisphere rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rrACC). PA levels were positively correlated with thickness of the rrACC cortex (r = 0.398, p = 0.002 < 0.05) and CR strategy (r = 0.398, p = 0.002 < 0.05), and negatively correlated with the ES strategy (r = −0.348, p = 0.007 < 0.05). The rrACC cortical thickness played a partial mediating role in the relationship between PA and CR strategy, accounting for 33.1% of total effect values. These findings indicate that although the negative correlation between PA and ES was not significant, the positive correlation between PA with CR was significant, and rrACC thickness played a partial mediating role in the relationship between PA and CR, providing new evidence toward comprehensively revealing the relationship between PA, rrACC cortical thickness, and emotion regulation strategies.

Relationship between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Executive Function in Young Adults: Mediating Effects of Gray Matter Volume.

We evaluated the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and executive function (EF) in young adults and the mediating effects of GMV on this relationship. This study involved 217 college students. An incremental load exercise program was used to evaluate VO2max. EF was estimated by the Flanker task, the 2-back task, and the more-odd shifting task, while structural magnetic resonance and region-based morphometry (RBM) were used to analyze GMV. The high CRF group had a shorter updating reaction time (RT) (p ≤ 0.05). CRF was positively correlated with the right orbital part of the middle frontal gyrus (ORBmid.R) GMV (p ≤ 0.05). ORBmid.R GMV was negatively correlated with updating RT (p ≤ 0.05). Model 4 in SPSS was used to assess the mediating effects of ORBmid.R GMV between CRF and updating RT. ORBmid.R GMV was established to have a partially mediating role between CRF and updating RT, which accounted for 19.6% of the total effect value. These findings indicate that the negative correlation between CRF and EF was significant, and ORBmid.R GMV played a mediating role in the relationship between CRF and EF, providing new evidence toward comprehensively revealing that CRF promotes EF performance.

Moderate Exercise Combined with Enriched Environment Enhances Learning and Memory through BDNF/TrkB Signaling Pathway in Rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of exercise combined with an enriched environment on learning and memory in rats. Forty healthy male Wistar rats (7 weeks old) were randomly assigned into 4 groups (N = 10 in each group): control (C) group, treadmill exercise (TE) group, enriched environment (EE) group and the TE + EE group. The Morris water maze (MWM) test was used to evaluate the learning and memory ability in all rats after eight weeks of exposure in the different conditions. Moreover, we employed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and receptor tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) in the rats. The data showed that the escape latency and the number of platform crossings were significantly better in the TE + EE group compared to the TE, EE or C groups (p < 0.05). In addition, there was upregulation of BDNF and TrkB in rats in the TE + EE group compared to those in the TE, EE or C groups (p < 0.05). Taken together, the data robustly demonstrate that the combination of TE + EE enhances learning and memory ability and upregulates the expression of both BDNF and TrkB in rats. Thus, the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway might be modulating the effect of exercise and enriched environment in improving learning and memory ability in rats.

Effects of Mini-Basketball Training Program on Social Communication Impairment and Executive Control Network in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study evaluated the effect of a 12-week mini-basketball training program (MBTP) on social communication (SC) and the executive control network (ECN) in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We finally assigned 30 preschool children with ASD to an experiment group (n = 15, 12 males, 3 females) or a control group (n = 15, 13 males, 2 females). The experiment group participated in a 12-week MBTP (40-min sessions per day, 5 days a week), while the control group only received the institutional routine behavioral rehabilitation intervention. The SC of preschool children with ASD was measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2), whereas functional connectivity (FC) of the ECN was assessed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) at pre-and post-test. Our results showed that SC exhibited significant improvement in the intervention group, especially in SRS-2 total score, social cognition, and social communication. We found significantly enhanced functional connectivity between the right cerebellum and left inferior frontal gyrus in the experimental group, while functional connectivity between the left middle temporal gyrus and right cerebellum were decreased in the control group. Furthermore, there were no significant correlations between the change in SC scores and FC of the ECN. Altogether, this study provides valuable insights that a 12-week MBTP improves SC and functional connectivity of the ECN in preschool children with ASD. We further inferred that neural mechanisms might be associated with changing the ECN of preschool ASD children caused by the 12-week MBTP.

Influence of Aerobic Fitness on White Matter Integrity and Inhibitory Control in Early Adulthood: A 9-Week Exercise Intervention.

Previous cross-sectional studies have related aerobic fitness to inhibitory control and white matter (WM) microstructure in young adults, but there is no longitudinal study to confirm whether these relationships exist. We carried out a longitudinal study comparing aerobic fitness, inhibitory control, and WM integrity across time points, before versus after completing an exercise intervention in young adults (18-20 years old) relative to a control group. The exercise group (n = 35) participated in a 9-week exercise protocol, while the control group (n = 24) did not receive any regular exercise training. Behavioral data and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were collected prior to and following the intervention. After the exercise intervention, aerobic fitness and inhibitory control performance were significantly improved for the exercise group, but not for the control group. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) of the DTI data demonstrated significantly increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right corticospinal tract and significantly decreased FA in the left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus in the exercise group after the intervention versus before. The enhanced aerobic fitness induced by exercise was associated with better inhibitory control performance in the incongruent condition and lower FA in the Left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus (SFOF). Regression analysis of a mediation model did not support Left SFOF FA as a mediator of the relationship between improvements in aerobic fitness and inhibitory control. The present data provide new evidence of the relationship between exercise-induced changes in aerobic fitness, WM integrity, and inhibitory control in early adulthood. Longer-duration intervention studies with larger study cohorts are needed to confirm and further explore the findings obtained in this study.

Effects of Mini-Basketball Training Program on Executive Functions and Core Symptoms among Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

This study examined the effects of a 12-week mini-basketball training program (MBTP) on executive functions and core symptoms among preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this quasi-experimental pilot study, 33 ASD preschoolers who received their conventional rehabilitation program were assigned to either a MBTP group (n = 18) or control group (n = 15). Specifically, the experimental group was required to take an additional 12-week MBTP (five days per week, one session per day, and forty minutes per session), while the control group was instructed to maintain their daily activities. Executive functions and core symptoms (social communication impairment and repetitive behavior) were evaluated by the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI), the Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition (SRS-2), and the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R), respectively. After the 12-week intervention period, the MBTP group exhibited significantly better performances in working memory (F = 7.51, p < 0.01, partial η2 = 0.195) and regulation (F = 4.23, p < 0.05, partial η2 = 0.12) as compared to the control group. Moreover, the MBTP significantly improved core symptoms of ASD preschoolers, including the social communication impairment (F = 6.02, p < 0.05, partial η2 = 0.020) and repetitive behavior (F = 5.79, p < 0.05, partial η2 = 0.016). Based on our findings, we concluded that the 12-week MBTP may improve executive functions and core symptoms in preschoolers with ASD, and we provide new evidence that regular physical exercise in the form of a MBTP is a promising alternative to treat ASD.

Mini-Basketball Training Program Improves Physical Fitness and Social Communication in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

This investigation examined the effects of a 12-week mini-basketball training program (MBTP) on physical fitness and social communication in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The study applied a quasi-experimental design. Fifty-nine preschool children aged 3-6 years with ASD were assigned to either a MBTP group (n = 30) or a control group (n = 29). Participants in the MBTP group received a scheduled mini-basketball training program (5 sessions per week, forty minutes per session) for twelve consecutive weeks, while the control group was instructed to maintain their daily activities. The physical fitness test and the parent-reported Social Responsiveness Scale Second Edition (SRS-2) test were performed before and after the intervention. Results indicated that the 12-week MBTP facilitated performance in the physical fitness test, particularly in speed-agility and muscular strength abilities. Additionally, children in the MBTP group demonstrated improvement in SRS-2 performance in social awareness, social cognition, social communication, and autistic mannerisms, whereas no such changes were found in the control group. It may be concluded that the 12-week MBTP could improve physical fitness and social communication in preschool children with ASD, and thus the use of physical exercise intervention as a therapeutic tool for preschoolers with ASD is recommended.

Mini-Basketball Training Program Improves Social Communication and White Matter Integrity in Children with Autism.

Impairments in social communication (SC) represent one of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While previous studies have demonstrated that exercise intervention improves SC in children with ASD, there is currently no neuroscientific evidence supporting its benefits. Therefore, we evaluated the outcomes of a long-term exercise intervention on SC and white matter integrity (WMI) in children with ASD, and further explored the neural mechanism of exercise intervention on SC in these children. Twenty-nine children aged 3-6 years with ASD were assigned to either exercise group (n = 15) or control group (n = 14). The exercise group received a scheduled mini-basketball training program (5 sessions per week, forty minutes per session) for 12 consecutive weeks, while the control group was instructed to maintain their daily activities. Groups were assessed before and after intervention on SC and WMI. SC scores were lower in the exercise group post-intervention. Compared with the control group, WMI of the exercise group showed higher fractional anisotropy in the body of corpus callosum, fornix, right cerebral peduncle, left posterior limb of internal capsule, right retrolenticular part of internal capsule, left anterior corona radiate and left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus; lower mean diffusivity in the left anterior corona radiate and the bilateral corticospinal tract. Furthermore, increased WMI was associated with lower scores on a measure of social cognition in the overall sample. This study is the first to provide evidence that exercise intervention improves SC and white matter integrity in children with autism.

Supervised machine learning: A new method to predict the outcomes following exercise intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder

The individual differences among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may make it challenging to achieve comparable benefits from a specific exercise intervention program. A new method for predicting the possible outcomes and maximizing the benefits of exercise intervention for children with ASD needs further exploration. Using the mini-basketball training program (MBTP) studies to improve the symptom performance of children with ASD as an example, we used the supervised machine learning method to predict the possible intervention outcomes based on the individual differences of children with ASD, investigated and validated the efficacy of this method. In a long-term study, we included 41 ASD children who received the MBTP. Before the intervention, we collected their clinical information, behavioral factors, and brain structural indicators as candidate factors. To perform the regression and classification tasks, the random forest algorithm from the supervised machine learning method was selected, and the cross validation method was used to determine the reliability of the prediction results. The regression task was used to predict the social communication impairment outcome following the MBTP in children with ASD, and explainable variance was used to evaluate the predictive performance. The classification task was used to distinguish the core symptom outcome groups of ASD children, and predictive performance was assessed based on accuracy. We discovered that random forest models could predict the outcome of social communication impairment (average explained variance was 30.58%) and core symptom (average accuracy was 66.12%) following the MBTP, confirming that the supervised machine learning method can predict exercise intervention outcomes for children with ASD. (AU)