Neurodevelopmental effects of X monosomy: a volumetric imaging study

Thirty girls with Turner syndrome (TuS) were compared with 30 individually age-matched controls on volumetric brain measures derived from magnetic resonance imaging and on measures of psychological functioning. As expected, girls with TuS performed more poorly on visual-spatial and intellectual measures relative to controls, and were rated by their parents as having more significant problems in attention and social behaviors. Although no group differences in overall cerebral or subcortical volumes were observed, the regional distribution of gray and white matter differed across groups in both right and left parietal regions. Differences in total tissue volume ratios were seen for both right and left parietal areas, but differences in individual gray and white matter ratios were seen exclusively in the right parietal regions. In general, girls with TuS had a smaller proportion of tissue (gray and white) within the right and left parietal regions, and a larger proportion of tissue within the right inferior parietal-occipital region relative to girls in the control group. These data suggest a potentially important role for X chromosome genes and/or sex steroids in the development and specialization of brain structure and function.