Cortical Thickness Abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorders Through Late Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood: A Large-Scale MRI Study
Cortical Thickness Abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorders Through Late Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood: A Large-Scale MRI Study
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DOI：
10.1093/cercor/bhx038
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发表时间：
2017-03-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Evans, Alan C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Khundrakpam, Budhachandra S.;Lewis, John D.;Evans, Alan C.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASDs）的神经影像学研究提供了不一致的皮层异常证据。这可能是由于大多数研究中使用的样本量较小，样本特征（特别是年龄）存在重要差异，以及疾病的异质性。为了解决这些问题，我们在自闭症脑成像数据交换数据集中评估了ASD的异常情况，该数据集包括大约1100名个体（6-55岁）的数据。这些数据的子集符合严格的质量控制和纳入标准（560名男性受试者；266名ASD；年龄= 6-35岁），用于计算ASD皮层厚度的年龄特异性差异以及任何这种差异与ASD症状严重程度的关系。我们的研究结果显示，从6岁开始，ASD患者的皮质厚度普遍增加，主要是左偏侧，这种差异在成年期逐渐减少。社会影响和交流相关症状的严重程度与这些皮质异常相关。这些结果与推测一致，即皮质厚度异常的发育模式反映了皮质成熟的延迟，并突出了ASD中形态异常的动态性。
Neuroimaging studies in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have provided inconsistent evidence of cortical abnormality. This is probably due to the small sample sizes used in most studies, and important differences in sample characteristics, particularly age, as well as to the heterogeneity of the disorder. To address these issues, we assessed abnormalities in ASD within the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange data set, which comprises data from approximately 1100 individuals (similar to 6-55 years). A subset of these data that met stringent quality control and inclusion criteria (560 male subjects; 266 ASD; age = 6-35 years) were used to compute age-specific differences in cortical thickness in ASD and the relationship of any such differences to symptom severity of ASD. Our results show widespread increased cortical thickness in ASD, primarily left lateralized, from 6 years onwards, with differences diminishing during adulthood. The severity of symptoms related to social affect and communication correlated with these cortical abnormalities. These results are consistent with the conjecture that developmental patterns of cortical thickness abnormalities reflect delayed cortical maturation and highlight the dynamic nature of morphological abnormalities in ASD.