Research Article

Brain growth rate abnormalities visualized in adolescents with autism

  1. Xue Hua1,
  2. Paul M. Thompson1,
  3. Alex D. Leow1,4,
  4. Sarah K. Madsen1,
  5. Rochelle Caplan3,
  6. Jeffry R. Alger2,
  7. Joseph O'Neill3,
  8. Kishori Joshi3,
  9. Susan L. Smalley3,
  10. Arthur W. Toga1,
  11. Jennifer G. Levitt3,*

Article first published online: 20 OCT 2011

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21441

Additional Information

How to Cite

Hua, X., Thompson, P. M., Leow, A. D., Madsen, S. K., Caplan, R., Alger, J. R., O'Neill, J., Joshi, K., Smalley, S. L., Toga, A. W. and Levitt, J. G. (2011), Brain growth rate abnormalities visualized in adolescents with autism. Hum. Brain Mapp.. doi: 10.1002/hbm.21441

Author Information

  1. 1

    Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

  2. 2

    Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

  3. 3

    Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Division of Child Psychiatry, University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

  4. 4

    Semel Institute of Neuroscience, University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

*UCLA Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, BOX 951759, 760 Westwood Plaza, 47-417C Semel Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1759

Publication History

  1. Article first published online: 20 OCT 2011
  2. Manuscript Accepted: 27 JUL 2011
  3. Manuscript Received: 12 AUG 2010

Funded by

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Grant Number: U54 RR021813
  • National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the NIH. Grant Numbers: P41 RR013642, M01 RR000865
  • National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR). Grant Number: grants 01082668
  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Grant Number: 5K08 MH01385 and MH067187
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Grant Numbers: 5R01 NS046018, NS32070
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Grant Numbers: R01 EB007813, R01 EB008281, R01 EB008432
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD). Grant Number: R01 HD050735
  • National Institute on Aging (NIA). Grant Number: R01 AG020098

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Keywords:

  • autism spectrum disorder;
  • longitudinal;
  • MRI;
  • tensor-based morphometry;
  • development;
  • white matter

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder is a heterogeneous disorder of brain development with wide ranging cognitive deficits. Typically diagnosed before age 3, autism spectrum disorder is behaviorally defined but patients are thought to have protracted alterations in brain maturation. With longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we mapped an anomalous developmental trajectory of the brains of autistic compared with those of typically developing children and adolescents. Using tensor-based morphometry, we created 3D maps visualizing regional tissue growth rates based on longitudinal brain MRI scans of 13 autistic and seven typically developing boys (mean age/interscan interval: autism 12.0 ± 2.3 years/2.9 ± 0.9 years; control 12.3 ± 2.4/2.8 ± 0.8). The typically developing boys demonstrated strong whole brain white matter growth during this period, but the autistic boys showed abnormally slowed white matter development (P = 0.03, corrected), especially in the parietal (P = 0.008), temporal (P = 0.03), and occipital lobes (P = 0.02). We also visualized abnormal overgrowth in autism in gray matter structures such as the putamen and anterior cingulate cortex. Our findings reveal aberrant growth rates in brain regions implicated in social impairment, communication deficits and repetitive behaviors in autism, suggesting that growth rate abnormalities persist into adolescence. Tensor-based morphometry revealed persisting growth rate anomalies long after diagnosis, which has implications for evaluation of therapeutic effects. Hum Brain Mapp, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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