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Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
Diffusion tensor imaging of white matter and correlates to eye movement control and psychometric testing in children
Angelina Paolozza1, Sarah Treit2, Christian Beaulieu2
1Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada.
Insights
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is linked to white matter abnormalities in children. Eye movement tasks, not psychometric tests, may serve as functional biomarkers for brain injury in PAE.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to central nervous system dysfunction and structural brain anomalies.
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a valuable tool for assessing white matter integrity.
- Understanding the relationship between white matter integrity and behavioral outcomes in PAE is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate white matter integrity using DTI in a large cohort of children with PAE.
- To examine correlations between DTI measures and behavioral outcomes, including eye movement and psychometric tests.
- To identify potential functional biomarkers for PAE-induced brain injury.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of children with confirmed PAE (n=69) and typically developing controls (n=67) underwent brain MRI, eye movement tasks, and psychometric testing.
- Semi-automated tractography was used to extract fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values from 15 white matter tracts.
- Statistical analyses examined group differences in DTI measures and correlations with behavioral data.
Main Results:
- Children with PAE showed significantly decreased FA in multiple white matter tracts compared to controls, including the corpus callosum, corticospinal tract, and frontal lobe connections.
- Sex interactions were observed, with females in the PAE group exhibiting lower FA in specific tracts compared to control females.
- Correlations between DTI measures and eye movement control were present in controls but absent in the PAE group; no DTI-psychometric test correlations were found.
Conclusions:
- PAE is associated with widespread white matter microstructural deficits.
- Eye movement control measures show promise as functional biomarkers for detecting PAE-related brain injury.
- These findings highlight the impact of PAE on white matter integrity and its functional consequences.
Abstract:
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can cause central nervous system dysfunction and widespread structural anomalies as detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study focused on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of white matter in a large sample of PAE participants that allowed us to examine correlations with behavioral outcomes. Participants were confirmed PAE (n = 69, mean age = 12.5 ± 3.2 years) or typically developing control children (n = 67, mean age = 12.1 ± 3.2 years) who underwent brain MRI, eye movement tasks, and psychometric tests. A semi-automated tractography method extracted fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values from 15 white matter tracts. The PAE group displayed decreased FA compared with controls in multiple tracts including 3 corpus callosum regions, right corticospinal tract, and 3 left hemisphere tracts connecting to the frontal lobe (cingulum, uncinate fasciculus, and superior longitudinal fasciculus). Significant group by sex interactions were found for the genu, left superior longitudinal fasciculus, and the left uncinate, with females in the PAE group exhibiting lower FA compared with control females. Correlations were found between DTI and eye movement measures in the control group, but these same relationships were absent in the PAE group. In contrast, no correlations were found between DTI and any of the psychometric tests used in this study. These findings support the hypothesis that measures of eye movement control may be valuable functional biomarkers of the brain injury induced by PAE as these tasks reveal group differences that appear to be linked to deficits in white matter integrity in the brain. Hum Brain Mapp 38:444-456, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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