Atypical Late Neurodevelopment in Autism: A Longitudinal MRI and DTI Study

除了努力描述自闭症的最早迹象外，继续努力 了解自闭症的大脑基础，它如何随着时间的推移而变化，以及它如何与自闭症的变化有关。 在儿童和成人的疾病表现。已经感染的人中， 孤独症是巨大的，而且还在增长。很明显，这些人的自闭症是一种动态障碍， 随着年龄的增长，相当一部分受影响的人病情恶化而不是改善。个人 其损伤不会随着时间的推移而恶化，但终身残疾稳定但严重。客观 这项研究的目的是了解自闭症从童年到成年的纵向大脑机制， 动态脑变化和临床表型变化之间的关系。这项研究将产生新的信息 这对开发新的治疗方法以及二级和三级预防干预措施十分重要。 本项目的具体目标是收集时间3和时间4纵向结构和扩散 沿着3 Telsa的张量神经成像以及大量儿童的临床和神经心理学数据 和患有自闭症的成年人以及正常发育的个体。收集时间1和时间2数据， 由美国国立卫生研究院自闭症卓越合作项目资助。这是一项病例对照纵向研究 最初的100名男性自闭症患者和72名匹配的正常对照组。队列中的受试者为 平均分为4个年龄组。在时间1，他们的年龄为3-6岁、7-11岁、12-17岁和18-35岁。在时间2， 比我大两岁在第3次和第4次，他们将分别大4岁和6岁。3 Telsa结构和扩散张量 在时间1和时间2收集成像数据，并将在时间3和4收集单次相同的成像数据。 扫描仪用于时间1和2。 确定了3个主要和次要特征值和特征向量， 扩散率以及轴向和径向扩散率，用于白色物质完整性的定量评估。 结构和弥散张量成像的感兴趣区域和全脑体素分析 沿着纤维束成像。详细的临床和神经心理学数据收集于 所有科目和动态的大脑行为关系的研究。 这个项目是犹他州大学的一个合作项目， 确定，评估，并扫描，威斯康星州大学，在那里所有的扩散张量成像数据是 处理和分析，以及杨百翰大学，在那里处理所有结构数据， 分析了这个合作小组一直在有效和富有成效地共同努力， 自2002年以来的纵向研究。

In addition to efforts to describe the earliest signs of autism, it is critical to continue efforts to understand the brain-basis of autism, how it changes over time, and how it is related to the changing manifestations of the disorder in children and adults. The population of already-affected individuals with autism is huge and growing. It has become clear that autism in these individuals is a dynamic disorder and that a sizeable proportion of affected individuals worsen rather than improve as they grow older. Individuals whose impairment does not worsen over time live with stable but significant lifelong disability. The objective of this research is to understand longitudinal brain mechanisms from childhood into adulthood in autism and how dynamic brain and clinical phenotype changes are related. This research will result in new information important for the development of new treatments and secondary and tertiary preventive interventions. The specific aims of this project are to collect time 3 and time 4 longitudinal structural and diffusion tensor neuroimaging at 3 Telsa along with clinical and neuropsychological data on a large cohort of children and adults with autism and typically developing individuals. The collection of time 1 and time 2 data was funded by the NIH Collaborative Program of Excellence in Autism. This is a case-control longitudinal study of the original cohort of 100 males with autism and 72 matched normal controls. Subjects in the cohort are equally divided into 4 age-bins. At time 1 they were 3-6, 7-11, 12-17, and 18-35 years of age. At time 2 they were 2 years older. At times 3 and 4 they will be 4 and 6 years older. 3 Telsa structural and diffusion tensor imaging data were collected at time 1 and time 2 and will be collected at time 3 and 4 on the single, same scanner used for time 1 and 2. The 3 major and minor eigenvalues and eigenvectors are determined and fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and axial and radial diffusivity calculated for quantitative assessment of white matter integrity. Region of interests and whole-brain voxel-based analyses of both structural and diffusion tensor imaging data are performed, along with tractography. Detailed clinical and neuropsychological data are collected on all subjects and dynamic brain-behavior relationships studied. This project is a collaborative effort between the University of Utah, where all subjects are ascertained, assessed, and scanned, the University of Wisconsin, where all diffusion tensor imaging data are processed and analyzed, and Brigham Young University where all structural data are processed and analyzed. This collaborative group has been effectively and productively working together on this longitudinal study since 2002.