STRUCTURAL AND CHEMICAL BRAIN IMAGING OF AUTISM

UW ACE的总体主题围绕着风险、风险流程、 自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的症状出现和适应。根据这个模型，基因 风险因素影响大脑发育，从而导致风险过程，即交互作用模式的改变 儿童与他/她的环境之间的关系，这进一步促进了神经的异常发育 电路和后续行为。项目IV有两个目标：(1)我们试图确定以下早期表现 自闭症患者的大脑发育异常：即大脑发育的变异会影响 房间隔缺损的发展。自闭症儿童12个月大的婴儿兄弟姐妹与非风险儿童的比较 将使用磁共振成像(MRI)和磁共振波谱对婴儿进行研究 磁共振成像(MRSI)，以及脑测量与临床病程和症状出现之间的关系将是 检查过了。通过生物风险标记物及早发现自闭症提供了症状前的希望 诊断，最终是可以早期使用的治疗疾病的药物或行为干预 在疾病过程中和在症状前期。(2)我们计划研究儿童进入 青春期，以确定大脑发育变化，可能与癫痫发作和 青春期的行为衰退。我们将对13个样本进行核磁共振和核磁共振成像研究- 14岁患有自闭症的青少年，以前在3-4岁、6岁和9-10岁时进行过成像，以及 发育迟缓和典型发育儿童的配对对照样本。这项研究将 让我们了解大脑发育的差异和长期临床之间的关系 结果，重点是青春期癫痫发作和认知能力下降。该项目直接针对目标 在NIH自闭症研究矩阵中概述，包括(1)确定自闭症的生物风险指数 婴儿自闭症和自闭症相关症状的发展，以及(2)发育时间进程 以自闭症患者大脑结构和连接的改变为特征。

The overall UW ACE theme centers on a comprehensive developmental model of risk, risk processes, symptom emergence, and adaptation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to this model, genetic risk factors influence brain development which leads to risk processes, namely altered patterns of interaction between the child and his/her environment, which further contribute to the abnormal development of neural circuitry and subsequent behavior. Project IV has two aims: (1) We seek to identify early manifestations of abnormal brain development in ASD: that is, variations in brain development that influence risk for the development of ASD. Twelve-month old infant siblings of children with autism, and comparison non-risk infants, will be studied using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), and relationships between brain measures and clinical course and symptom onset will be examined. Early detection of autism via biological risk markers offers the promise of presymptomatic diagnosis and, ultimately, of disease-modifying medications or behavioral intervention that can be used early in the disease process and during the presymptomatic period. (2) We plan to study children entering adolescence in order to identify brain developmental changes that may be related to onset seizure and behavioral decline during the adolescent period. We will conduct MRI and MRSI studies on a sample of 13- 14 yr old adolescents with ASD who have been previously imaged at 3-4 and 6 and 9-10 years of age, and matched comparison samples of children with developmental delay and typical development. This study will allow us to understand the relationship between variations in brain development and longer-term clinical outcome, focusing on adolescent seizure onset and cognitive decline. This project directly addresses goals outlined in the NIH Autism Research Matrix, including (1) identification of biological risk indices for the development of autism and autism-related symptoms in infants, and (2) developmental time course characterized for alterations in brain structures and connections in autism.