Abnormal gray matter structure in children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

Elsevier

Available online 9 November 2022, 111564

Psychiatry Research: NeuroimagingHighlights•

Children and adolescents with high-functioning ASD showed increased gray matter volume and density in the precuneus and subcortical regions.

Different clinical symptoms of ASD were associated with gray matter structure in specific brain regions.

Structural abnormalities of gray matter were correlated with dysfunctions of ASD patients.

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the brain structural mechanisms underlying clinical dysfunction in patients with ASD using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After screening T1 structural images from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) database, 111 children and adolescents with high-functioning ASD and 151 typically developing (TD) subjects matched were included in this study. We first compared the differences in gray matter volume (GMV) and gray matter density (GMD) between the two groups. Then, the relationships between GMV/GMD and clinical assessments in ASD patients were evaluated. We found that compared with the TD group, the ASD group showed increased GMV/GMD in the precuneus, thalamus, hippocampus and cingulate gyrus. Moreover, in the ASD group, social interaction was negatively correlated with GMD in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and limbic system; communication was positively correlated with GMD in the right middle temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and anterior cingulate gyrus; and repetitive behavior was positively correlated with GMD in the cerebellum and negatively correlated with GMV in the prefrontal cortex. In conclusion, the gray matter structure in children and adolescents with ASD was abnormal, and different clinical dysfunctions in ASD patients were related to structural abnormalities in specific regions.

Keywords

autism spectrum disorder

gray matter volume/density

regression analysis

View full text

© 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V.

留言 (0)

沒有登入
gif