Widespread Focal Cortical Alterations in Autism Spectrum Disorder with Intellectual Disability Detected by...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Brain Anatomy

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is frequently associated with intellectual disability (ID).
• Limited neuroimaging research exists for ASD with ID, especially lacking a nonsyndromic ID control group.
• Understanding structural brain differences in ASD with ID is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate voxelwise structural brain alterations in children with ASD and ID.
• To compare these alterations with typically developing children and children with nonsyndromic ID.
• To identify potential neuroimaging biomarkers for ASD with ID.

Main Methods:

• Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) statistical approaches were used.
• Structural MRI data from 25 children with ASD and ID, 25 typically developing children, and 25 children with nonsyndromic ID were analyzed.
• Family-wise error correction was applied to account for multiple comparisons.

Main Results:

• VBM analysis did not survive family-wise error correction.
• TFCE revealed widespread focal cortical and corpus callosum anomalies in ASD with ID.
• Alterations in basal ganglia and basal forebrain were observed in both ASD with ID and nonsyndromic ID groups.
• Significant differences in the frontocingulate-parietal cortex were found between ASD with ID and nonsyndromic ID groups.

Conclusions:

• The frontocingulate-parietal cortex may serve as a key region for identifying imaging biomarkers in ASD with ID.
• TFCE significantly enhances the detection of structural alterations in neurodevelopmental disorders.
• This study provides novel insights into the neuroanatomy of ASD with ID.