Bridging Brain Science and Technology: How AI Is Shaping the Future of Neuroimaging in Autism

Background/Objectives: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with structural brain alterations, particularly involving white matter and connectivity. Artificial intelligence (AI) enhances the detection of subtle neuroanatomical changes. This study aimed to characterize structural abnormalities and volumetric patterns in children with ASD using AI-assisted MRI. Methods: This retrospective study included 90 children diagnosed with ASD. Brain MRI scans were analyzed using the CE-certified AI platform mdbrain. Structural findings were classified into corpus callosum anomalies, white matter signal abnormalities (WMSA), ventriculomegaly, other abnormalities, or no detectable changes. Group differences were assessed using ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests with Tukey post hoc analysis. Logistic regression, principal component analysis (PCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were applied. Results: WMSA were identified in 23.3% of patients, followed by other anomalies (27.8%), corpus callosum anomalies (8.9%), ventriculomegaly (8.9%), and no abnormalities (31.1%). Total white matter volume was significantly reduced in pathological groups and was the only independent predictor. PCA identified three principal components reflecting shared temporo-parietal covariance, hemispheric asymmetry, and a white matter-related axis. Exploratory LDA demonstrated partial separation among anomaly categories. Conclusions: Children with ASD in this cohort showed heterogeneous but partially structured MRI alterations involving both focal and global volumetric changes. Reduced total white matter volume was the most consistent multivariable association with structural abnormalities. AI-assisted morphometric analysis may support structural phenotyping in ASD. These findings are exploratory and require confirmation in larger, prospectively validated cohorts before biomarker applications can be considered.