China Autism Brain Imaging Consortium: Charting Brain Growth in Chinese Children with Autism

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition characterized by atypical brain growth. While advances in neuroimaging and openly sharing large-sample datasets such as the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) have improved understanding of ASD, most studies focus on adolescents and adults, with early brain development-critical for diagnosis and intervention-remaining underexplored. Existing research predominantly involves Western samples, offering limited insight and generalizability into non-Caucasian populations. We introduce the China Autism Brain Imaging Consortium (CABIC) (https://php.bdnilab.com/resources/), a grassroots effort by researchers across the country to aggregate previously collected multi-site structural MRI datasets and phenotypic information from 1,451 autistic children and 1,119 typically developing children, covering an age range from early childhood to school age (1.0 - 12.92 years). Here, we present this resource and depict brain growth charts to push forward a more comprehensive understanding of the brain development in Chinese autism children. We constructed brain growth charts that reveal a developmental shift in autistic children, transitioning from early overgrowth to delayed maturation. Regional analyses identified distinct atypical trajectories across specific brain regions. Individual deviation scores quantified inter-subject variability, characterizing the heterogeneity of brain development in ASD. Comparative analyses between CABIC and ABIDE highlighted differences potentially attributable to ethnicity and culture, advancing our understanding of cross-population neurodevelopmental diversity. CABIC MRI datasets will be shared publicly to foster investigation of the potential neural mechanisms underlying ASD in non-Western populations and support efforts toward precision medicine for autistic individuals across diverse backgrounds.