Structural Gray Matter Differences During Childhood Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multimetric Approach
Structural Gray Matter Differences During Childhood Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multimetric Approach
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DOI：
10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2015.06.013
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发表时间：
2015-10-01
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
Hyde, Krista L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Foster, Nicholas E. V.;Doyle-Thomas, Krissy A. R.;Hyde, Krista L.
背景：自闭症谱系障碍是一种复杂的神经发育障碍，其特征是社会互动和沟通障碍、重复行为和兴趣限制。与自闭症谱系障碍相关的灰质差异已经通过各种结构成像方法进行了研究，但几乎没有达成共识；不同的结果在多大程度上反映了自闭症谱系障碍的方法差异或异质性尚不清楚。此外，很少有研究将自闭症谱系障碍患者的灰质变化作为年龄的函数进行检查。方法：对38名自闭症谱系障碍儿童和46名正常发育儿童的灰质结构发育进行了详细的研究，方法包括基于体素的形态测定法、皮质厚度和皮质表面积分析。结果：与正常发育儿童相比，自闭症谱系障碍组在额叶和颞叶（包括额叶内侧回、布洛卡区和颞叶后皮层等区域）以及某些顶叶和枕叶皮层下区域的灰质增加最为显著。仅在颞顶交界处附近发现灰质减少。壳核和尾状核皮层下灰质增加，小脑灰质减少。在前额叶皮层、初级感觉运动皮层和颞顶叶交界处等分布区域存在年龄依赖性的GM差异。结论：研究结果揭示了自闭症谱系障碍患者大脑皮层和皮层下灰质结构差异的分布特征，为儿童和青少年发育过程中自闭症谱系障碍相关的大脑皮层和皮层下灰质结构差异提供了更全面的表征。
BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests. Gray matter differences linked to autism spectrum disorder have been studied using a variety of structural imaging methods, but yielded little consensus; the extent to which disparate results reflect differences in methodology or heterogeneity within autism spectrum disorder is not yet clear. Moreover, very few studies have examined gray matter changes as a function of age in autism spectrum disorder. METHOD: A detailed investigation of gray matter structural development was performed via voxel-based morphometry, cortical thickness, and cortical surface area analyses in 38 autism spectrum disorder versus 46 typically developing children. RESULTS: Relative to typically developing children, the autism spectrum disorder group showed gray matter increases most prominently in the frontal and temporal lobes (including regions such as medial frontal gyrus, Broca's area and posterior temporal cortex), as well as certain parietal and occipital subcortical regions. Gray matter decreases were found only near the temporoparietal junction. Subcortical gray matter increases were found in the putamen and caudate nucleus, while decreases were found in cerebellum. There were age-dependent GM differences in distributed regions including prefrontal cortex, primary sensorimotor cortex, and temporoparietal junction. CONCLUSION: The results underline the distributed nature of gray matter structural differences in autism spectrum disorder and provide a more comprehensive characterization of autism spectrum disorder related cortical and subcortical gray matter structural differences during childhood and adolescent development.