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Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
Imaging derived cortical thickness reduction in high-functioning autism: key regions and temporal slope
Christian Scheel1, Anna Rotarska-Jagiela, Leonhard Schilbach
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50924 Cologne, Germany.
Neuroimage
|July 14, 2011
Summary
Cortical thickness (CT) differences in adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) were identified in brain regions crucial for social cognition. These neuroanatomical variations persist and develop throughout adulthood, offering insights into autism
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by complex symptomatology potentially linked to cortical thickness (CT) alterations.
- Aberrant brain development and its persistence into adulthood in individuals with ASD remain subjects of ongoing research and debate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cortical thickness (CT) differences between adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) and neurotypical controls.
- To examine the developmental trajectories and age-related changes in cortical thickness in HFA.
Main Methods:
- A surface-based whole-brain analysis using FreeSurfer was conducted on 28 adults with HFA and 28 matched controls.
- Cortical thickness was measured and compared between groups, with a focus on identifying regional differences and age-related changes.
Main Results:
- Adults with HFA exhibited thinner cortex in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), a region involved in social cognition.
- Distinct patterns of age-related cortical thinning were observed in HFA compared to controls, particularly in regions like the supramarginal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule (IPL).
- While controls showed steady cortical thinning with age, HFA individuals did not exhibit analogous thinning in specific regions, suggesting divergent developmental trajectories.
Conclusions:
- Cortical thickness analysis provides valuable neuroanatomical correlates for high-functioning autism.
- Reduced cortical thickness in social cognition-related brain regions is a characteristic of HFA.
- Aberrant brain development, leading to these CT differences, continues throughout adulthood in individuals with HFA.
