Abnormal Corpus Callosum Connectivity, Socio-communicative Deficits, and Motor Deficits in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Abstract

In addition to social and communicative deficits, many studies have reported motor deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigated the macro and microstructural properties of the corpus callosum (CC) of 18 children with ASD and 12 typically developing controls using diffusion tensor imaging tractography. We aimed to explore whether abnormalities of the CC were related to motor deficits, as well as social and communication deficits in children with ASD. The ASD group displayed abnormal macro and microstructure of the total CC and its subdivisions and its structural properties were related to socio-communicative deficits, but not to motor deficits in ASD. These findings advance our understanding of the contributions of the CC to ASD symptoms.