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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
12:21
Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
Gray and white matter imbalance--typical structural abnormality underlying classic autism?
Leonardo Bonilha1, Fernando Cendes, Chris Rorden
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208, USA. bonilha@gwm.sc.edu
Brain & Development
|March 26, 2008
Summary
Autism is linked to increased gray matter in key brain regions and reduced white matter. This structural brain difference may explain some autism symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Background:
- Growing evidence suggests altered cortical activity and brain connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- The underlying structural brain changes associated with these functional abnormalities remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural brain differences in patients with autism using voxel-based morphometry.
- To identify specific gray matter and white matter alterations in the brains of individuals with autism.
Main Methods:
- Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.
- Comparison of 12 male patients with autism (mean age 12.4 years) against 16 matched neurotypical controls.
- Analysis of brain MRI from a larger cohort of 103 subjects with pervasive developmental disorders.
Main Results:
- Autism patients showed increased gray matter volume in medial and dorsolateral frontal lobes, temporal lobes, parietal lobes, cerebellum, and claustrum.
- Significant reductions in white matter volume were observed in frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital regions of autism patients.
- These findings highlight distinct patterns of gray and white matter abnormalities in the autistic brain.
Conclusions:
- The observed combination of enlarged cortical gray matter and decreased white matter may represent the structural basis for certain symptoms of classic autism.
- These structural findings provide crucial insights into the neurobiology of autism spectrum disorder.
- Further research is warranted to explore the functional implications of these structural changes.
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