MRI volumes of amygdala and hippocampus in non-mentally retarded autistic adolescents and adults
MRI volumes of amygdala and hippocampus in non-mentally retarded autistic adolescents and adults
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DOI：
10.1212/wnl.53.9.2145
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发表时间：
1999-12-10
期刊：
影响因子：
9.9
通讯作者：
Pearlson, GD
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Aylward, EH;Minshew, NJ;Pearlson, GD
目的：探讨孤独症患者海马区和杏仁核体积是否异常。背景：对孤独症边缘系统的神经病理学研究发现，孤独症患者海马区、杏仁核和其他边缘结构中的神经元体积变小，神经元堆积密度增加，树突的复杂性降低。这些发现暗示了神经元和神经束成熟的发育减退。方法：对14名非智力落后的自闭症男性青少年和年轻人和14名匹配的健康社区志愿者进行1.5 mm冠状梯度回波MRI扫描，测量海马体、杏仁核和脑总体积。结果：自闭症受试者的杏仁核体积显著小于对照组(P=0.006.0 1)。总脑体积和海马体绝对体积在组间没有显著差异，但在自闭症受试者中，经总脑体积校正后，海马体体积显著减少(p=0.04)。结论：自闭症患者的杏仁核和海马体体积减少，特别是与总脑体积相比。自闭症的组织病理学表明，这些体积的减少与树突和神经管发育的减少有关，可能反映了边缘结构与大脑其他部分，特别是大脑皮层的神经联系发育不足。
Objective: To determine whether volumes of hippocampus and amygdala are abnormal in people with autism. Background: Neuropathologic studies of the limbic system in autism have found decreased neuronal size, increased neuronal packing density, and decreased complexity of dendritic arbors in hippocampus, amygdala, and other limbic structures. These findings are suggestive of a developmental curtailment in the maturation of the neurons and neuropil. Methods: Measurement of hippocampus, amygdala, and total brain volumes from 1.5-mm coronal, spoiled gradient-recalled echo MRI scans in 14 non-mentally retarded autistic male adolescents and young adults and 14 individually matched, healthy community volunteers. Results: Amygdala volume was significantly smaller in the autistic subjects, both with (p = 0.006) and without (p = 0.01) correcting for total brain volume. Total brain volume and absolute hippocampal volume did not differ significantly between groups, but hippocampal volume, when corrected for total brain volume, was significantly reduced (p = 0.04) in the autistic subjects. Conclusions: There is a reduction in the volume of amygdala and hippocampus in people with autism, particularly in relation to total brain volume. The histopathology of autism suggests that these volume reductions are related to a reduction in dendritic tree and neuropil development, and likely reflect the underdevelopment of the neural connections of limbic structures with other parts of the brain, particularly cerebral cortex.