Functional and anatomical connectivity study using fMRI and DTI

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Functional and structural investigations of neuroanatomical substrates that correlate with autistic tendency in healthy human subjects are critical for understanding autism-spectrum disorder. To accomplish this, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) in combination with diffusion tensor imaging(DTI) in 30 healthy young subjects. The subjects were evaluated using the Autistic-Spectrum Quotient(AQ), which was designed to measure autistic traits in both healthy and autistic subjects. Face specific brain activation in the superior temporal sulcus(STS) and amygdala(AMG) was identified using fMRI and passive viewing of faces. In addition, probabilistic tractography performed in each subject by using DTI showed a white matter pathway between the STS and AMG regions. The volume of connectivity between these regions correlated positively with the total AQ score(Spearman's rho=0. 38, p<0. 05). These results suggest that healthy subjects with high autistic traits may show an increase in the white matter pathway that connects key regions involved in face processing.