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Pineal gland volume in children with intellectual disability

Asiye Arıcı Gürbüz1, Hatice Altun2, Ayşegül Yolga Tahiroğlu3

  • 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dr. Ekrem Tok Mental Health Diseases and Hospital, Adana, Turkey.

International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience
|November 15, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Children with intellectual disability (ID) have larger pineal gland volumes (PGV) than healthy children. Increased PGV may be a risk factor for ID and is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Pineal gland volume (PGV) changes are observed in psychiatric disorders, affecting sleep and circadian rhythms.
  • Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental condition impacting cognitive functions.
  • Understanding neuroanatomical differences in ID is crucial for etiological insights.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the PGV in children with mild to moderate ID versus healthy controls.
  • To investigate the relationship between PGV and intelligence scores in children with ID.
  • To explore PGV as a potential biomarker in ID and associated conditions.

Main Methods:

  • A multicentre retrospective study involving 40 children with ID and 40 age/sex-matched healthy controls.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure PGV.
  • Sociodemographic data and Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-revised (WISC-R) scores were collected.

Main Results:

  • Children with ID exhibited significantly larger PGV compared to controls (p=0.023).
  • No significant PGV difference was found between mild and moderate ID groups.
  • A positive correlation was observed between WISC-R scores and PGV in the ID group (r=0.313).

Conclusions:

  • Increased PGV is associated with intellectual disability (ID) and potentially autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
  • PGV may serve as a risk factor in the etiology of ID.
  • Further research with larger cohorts is warranted to confirm these findings.
Abstract

Keywords:
childrenintellectual disabilitymagnetic resonance imagingpineal gland

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