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Temporal lobe dysfunction in childhood autism: a PET study. Positron emission tomography
M Zilbovicius1, N Boddaert, P Belin
1Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, Direction des Sciences du Vívant, Département de Recherche, Commisariat à l'Energie Atomique, Tours, France. zilbo@shfj.cea.fr
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|December 1, 2000
Summary
Positron emission tomography (PET) revealed temporal lobe hypoperfusion in children with autism. This localized brain dysfunction was consistently detected in autistic children, suggesting a key area for further autism research.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Childhood autism is a severe developmental disorder with poorly understood brain dysfunction.
- Previous functional brain imaging studies have not consistently identified localized neocortical dysfunction.
- Improved imaging technology may now detect subtle brain abnormalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate localized brain dysfunction in children with autism using advanced imaging techniques.
- To test the hypothesis that improved positron emission tomography (PET) methods can detect previously missed neocortical dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- Regional cerebral blood flow was measured using PET in 21 children with autism and 10 with idiopathic mental retardation.
- Voxel-based whole brain analysis was employed to identify focal brain dysfunction.
- An extension study with 12 additional autistic children validated the findings.
Main Results:
- Significant hypoperfusion was detected in the temporal lobes of autistic children, specifically in associative auditory and adjacent multimodal cortex.
- This temporal lobe dysfunction was observed in 76% of the initially studied autistic children.
- Identical results were replicated in the extension study group.
Conclusions:
- PET and voxel-based analysis identified localized temporal lobe dysfunction in school-aged children with idiopathic autism.
- These findings suggest a specific brain abnormality associated with autism.
- Further research is needed to understand the link between temporal lobe dysfunction and autistic developmental abnormalities.