Distinct modes of functional neural organization in autism: Insights from dynamical systems analysis of resting-state EEG

Abstract

While differences in patterns of functional connectivity and neural synchronization have been reported between individuals on the autism spectrum and neurotypical peers at various age stages, these differences appear to be subtle and may not be captured by typical quantitative measures of EEG. We used the dynamical systems approach to analyze resting-state EEG to investigate fine-grained spatiotemporal organization of brain networks in autistic and neurotypical young adults. While power spectra showed minimal group differences, autistic participants exhibited higher Lyapunov exponents (indicating less stable neural dynamics), weaker phase synchronization, and lower clustering/efficiency of functional networks during eyes-open resting state, suggesting more random and less stably connected neural dynamics in comparison to those of neurotypical peers. Closing the eyes regularized neural dynamics in autistic but not neurotypical participants, with increases in synchrony strength, transient desynchronization patterning, and functional connectivity observed in the autistic group. The results point to the distinct modes of neural dynamics organization likely reflecting cumulative developmental adaptations to sensory inputs that shape both resting-state neural activity and cognitive processing strategies.