Research Article

Mapping brain abnormalities in boys with autism

  1. Caroline C. Brun1,
  2. Rob Nicolson2,
  3. Natasha Leporé1,
  4. Yi-Yu Chou1,
  5. Christine N. Vidal1,
  6. Timothy J. DeVito3,
  7. Dick J. Drost4,
  8. Peter C. Williamson2,
  9. Nagalingam Rajakumar2,
  10. Arthur W. Toga1,
  11. Paul M. Thompson1,*

Article first published online: 24 JUN 2009

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20814

Issue

Human Brain Mapping

Human Brain Mapping

Volume 30, Issue 12, pages 3887–3900, December 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Brun, C. C., Nicolson, R., Leporé, N., Chou, Y.-Y., Vidal, C. N., DeVito, T. J., Drost, D. J., Williamson, P. C., Rajakumar, N., Toga, A. W. and Thompson, P. M. (2009), Mapping brain abnormalities in boys with autism. Human Brain Mapping, 30: 3887–3900. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20814

Author Information

  1. 1

    Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

  2. 2

    Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

  3. 3

    Siemens Canada Limited, Healthcare Sector, London, Ontario, Canada

  4. 4

    Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

*Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, 635 Charles E. Young Drive South, Suite 225E, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7332

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 17 NOV 2009
  2. Article first published online: 24 JUN 2009
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 2 APR 2009
  4. Manuscript Revised: 2 FEB 2009
  5. Manuscript Received: 11 JUN 2008

Funded by

  • National Center for Research Resources. Grant Numbers: AG016570, EB01651, RR019771
  • NIDA. Grant Numbers: MH/DA52176, RR13642, MH655166
  • National Institute of Aging
  • National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
  • Child and Parent Resource Institute
  • London Health Science Foundation
  • Ontario Mental Health Foundation
  • Hospital for Sick Children Foundation
  • Human Brain Mapping Project
  • NIMH

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (1065K)

Keywords:

  • autism;
  • TBM;
  • white matter;
  • gray matter;
  • cerebellum;
  • morphometry

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit characteristic cognitive and behavioral differences, but no systematic pattern of neuroanatomical differences has been consistently found. Recent neurodevelopmental models posit an abnormal early surge in subcortical white matter growth in at least some autistic children, perhaps normalizing by adulthood, but other studies report subcortical white matter deficits. To investigate the profile of these alterations in 3D, we mapped brain volumetric differences using a relatively new method, tensor-based morphometry. 3D T1-weighted brain MRIs of 24 male children with ASD (age: 9.5 years ± 3.2 SD) and 26 age-matched healthy controls (age: 10.3 ± 2.4 SD) were fluidly registered to match a common anatomical template. Autistic children had significantly enlarged frontal lobes (by 3.6% on the left and 5.1% on the right), and all other lobes of the brain were enlarged significantly, or at trend level. By analyzing the applied deformations statistically point-by-point, we detected significant gray matter volume deficits in bilateral parietal, left temporal and left occipital lobes (P = 0.038, corrected), trend-level cerebral white matter volume excesses, and volume deficits in the cerebellar vermis, adjacent to volume excesses in other cerebellar regions. This profile of excesses and deficits in adjacent regions may (1) indicate impaired neuronal connectivity, resulting from aberrant myelination and/or an inflammatory process, and (2) help to understand inconsistent findings of regional brain tissue excesses and deficits in autism. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (1065K)