We all know that more than one type of autism is epidemic throughout our world, but connecting the patterns we see with objective measures in labs or radiology images has been challenging. This study claims to see two particular patterns of brain structure/function that account for about 25% of the children with autism that they scanned with MRIs. They found a hyperconnectivity subtype and a hypoconnectivity subtype.
For those of us caring for children and adults with autism spectrum, we see a real spectrum of both symptoms and severity. Some people thrive; some struggle. The research has not pinned down one cause of autism because there are multiple causes and multiple forms beyond just genetic influences.
In this study, they started with mouse brain models to identify possible patterns to look for in humans. Then they compared 940 children and young adults with an autism diagnosis against 1000 neurotypical individuals. Two patterns stood out on imaging which together accounted for about 1 in 4 of the autism cases.
In one subtype, they found hypoconnectivity between brain regions. With different areas of our brains doing different things, the amount of connectivity determines balance and cooperativity of our total brain function. This hypo-connected subtype was related to synaptic pathways, the physical connections between nerve endings where messages are relayed from one nerve to another.
The other was a hyperconnectivity version in which immune related systems were increasing the connections between brain regions. Both of these patterns were reproducible across different study sets which makes them confident of their findings.
Then one has to ask, so what? Well, beyond confirming suspicions of multiple autism subtypes and involvement of synapses and the immune system, we are left waiting for more study information. Meanwhile, we will keep going a little further upstream in removing toxins, infections, inflammation triggers, and other contributing factors to our patients until research changes our mind and practices. Helping children today restore healthier, more abundant lives requires using what we know now and keeping our eyes on developing research as it happens.
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Original Article:
Marco Pagani, Valerio Zerbi, Silvia Gini, Filomena Grazia Alvino, Abhishek Banerjee, Andrea Barberis, M. Albert Basson, Yuri Bozzi, Alberto Galbusera, Jacob Ellegood, Michela Fagiolini, Jason P. Lerch, Michela Matteoli, Caterina Montani, Davide Pozzi, Giovanni Provenzano, Maria Luisa Scattoni, Nicole Wenderoth, Ting Xu, Michael V. Lombardo, Michael P. Milham, Adriana Di Martino, Alessandro Gozzi. Autism subtypes identified using cross-species functional connectivity analyses. Nature Neuroscience, 2026; DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02287-z
Thanks to Science Daily:
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT. “Brain scans reveal two distinct types of autism.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 June 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260602021634.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Dr. Eric Potter graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School and then went on to specialize in internal medicine (adult) and pediatric care, spending significant time and effort in growing his medical understanding while caring for patients from all walks of life.
