Autism imaging study examines structural and functional network hierarchy
Published in Brain Architecture & Maps, Brain/Neurology, Journals, Scanners and Imaging.
Published October 31, 2026.
A brain imaging study published in Communications Biology on October 26 explores how anatomical connections relate to functional brain networks in autism.
Kim and colleagues analyzed imaging from 91 autistic individuals and 67 typically developing controls. They used mathematical modeling to predict functional connectivity from structural networks while considering communication over increasing numbers of steps.
The modeled network hierarchy was similar between groups at shorter communication steps, but became less differentiated in the autistic group over longer paths. Greater hierarchical differences were associated with more severe measured symptoms. The authors also reported links with multiscale neurobiological characteristics and atypical connectivity involving the thalamus and putamen.
These are group-level imaging and modeling findings. They do not establish biological causation, provide an individual diagnostic test or demonstrate a treatment. Further validation is needed before clinical use. The accepted article remains subject to editorial changes. Disclosures include an author’s co-founding role at BrainScores and another author’s journal editorship, without involvement in this article’s editorial decision.
Source: Kim et al., Communications Biology, October 26, 2026.