Effects of age on brain volume and head circumference in autism
Effects of age on brain volume and head circumference in autism
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DOI：
10.1212/wnl.59.2.175
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发表时间：
2002-07-23
期刊：
影响因子：
9.9
通讯作者：
Singh, N
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Aylward, EH;Minshew, NJ;Singh, N
目的：确定自闭症患者和对照组的脑体积在MRI扫描中是否存在差异，以及这种差异是否受年龄的影响。背景：先前的研究发现自闭症儿童的脑重、头围和核磁共振脑体积增加。然而，对自闭症成人大脑大小的研究得出了相互矛盾的结果。作者假设，大脑的增大可能是自闭症儿童早期大脑发育的一个特征，随着发育的成熟，大脑发育正常。方法：作者测量了67名患有自闭症的非智力落后儿童和成人和83名健康社区志愿者的1.5 mm冠状MRI扫描的总脑体积，年龄从8岁到46岁不等。还测量了头围。不同群体在年龄、性别、言语智商或社会经济地位上没有差异。结果：在控制身高的情况下，12岁及以下自闭症儿童的脑体积明显大于正常发育儿童。在自闭症组和对照组中，12岁以上的人的脑容量没有差异。患有自闭症的年轻人和老年人的头围都增加了，这表明12岁以上的自闭症患者在孩提时代大脑体积就增加了。结论：自闭症患者的大脑发育遵循异常模式，早期生长加速，导致儿童大脑增大。然而，患有自闭症的青少年和成年人的脑容量是正常的，这似乎是因为这些人的脑体积略有减少，而正常儿童的脑体积却略有增加。
Objective: To determine whether brain volume, as assessed on MRI scans, differs between individuals with autism and control subjects, and whether such differences are affected by age. Background: Previous studies have found increased brain weight, head circumference, and MRI brain volume in children with autism. However, studies of brain size in adults with autism have yielded conflicting results. The authors hypothesize that enlargement of the brain may be a feature of brain development during early childhood in autism that normalizes with maturational processes. Methods: The authors measured total brain volumes from 1.5-mm coronal MRI scans in 67 non-mentally retarded children and adults with autism and 83 healthy community volunteers, ranging in age from 8 to 46 years. Head circumference was also measured. Groups did not differ on age, sex, verbal IQ, or socioeconomic status. Results: Brain volumes were significantly larger for children with autism 12 years old and younger compared with normally developing children, when controlling for height. Brain volumes for individuals older than age 12 did not differ between the autism and control groups. Head circumference was increased in both younger and older groups of subjects with autism, suggesting that those subjects older than age 12 had increased brain volumes as children. Conclusions: Brain development in autism follows an abnormal pattern, with accelerated growth in early life that results in brain enlargement in childhood. Brain volume in adolescents and adults with autism is, however, normal, and appears to be due to a slight decrease in brain volume for these individuals at the same time that normal children are experiencing a slight increase.