Abstract
Goal: to evaluate changes in the grey matter volume using the VBM method in a group of adolescents with ASD, who met the criteria for Asperger's Syndrome. Material and methods: Morphometric evaluations based on Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM) were performed on 37 male adolescents aged 12 to 19 (M = 14.3 ± 2.0), with autism spectrum disorders, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for Asperger's Syndrome and 15 neurotypical adolescents matched by age. Significance was set at p<0.007 without FWE correction and p<0.05 with FWE correction. Results: the decrease in the volume of the grey matter was observed in ASD group including the pre- and postcentral gyrus, the superior and middle frontal gyrus, the inferior and superior parietal lobule, the praecuneus, the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, the fusiform gyrus, the parahippocampal gyrus, the lingual gyrus, the middle occipital region, the cuneus and the angular gyrus, the regions of calcarine sulcus and the cerebellum. The majority of changes was localized bilaterally. Conclusions: the decrease in the volume of grey matter observed in ASD group can be related functionally with the characteristics of deficits observed in autism spectrum disorders which highlights the role of abnormal organization of numerous CNS structures in the genesis of symptoms observed in cognitive and behavioural domains.
Highlights
The etiopathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which are characterized by social communication deficits, limited and repetitive patterns of behavior, and a chronic course [1], still remains to be thoroughly explained
The decrease in the volume of grey matter was observed in ASD group including the pre – and postcentral gyrus, the superior and middle frontal gyrus, the inferior and superior parietal lobule, the precuneus, the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, the fusiform gyrus, the parahippocampal gyrus, the lingual gyrus, the middle occipital region, the cuneus and the angular gyrus, the regions of calcarine sulcus, and the cerebellum
The decrease in the volume of grey matter observed in ASD group, which can be functionally related to the characteristics of deficits observed in autism spectrum disorder, highlights the role of abnormal organization of numerous CNS structures in the genesis of symptoms observed in cognitive and behavioral domains
Summary
The etiopathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which are characterized by social communication deficits, limited and repetitive patterns of behavior, and a chronic course [1], still remains to be thoroughly explained. Abnormalities in the volume of grey and white matter and CNS structure abnormalities have been reported by neuroimaging and histopathological studies across many years [2, 3]. Morphometric and volumetric studies based on voxel-based morphometry (VBM) use automatized techniques which provide information about abnormalities in the grey and white matter in the whole brain without making assumptions about localization [4] and without preselection of regions of interest (ROI). With regards to the direction of differences, the results are inconsistent – an increase in the volume of the grey matter or thickness of the cortex was observed in some studies [6,7,8], while others report a decrease in those parameters [9,10,11] or no differences in subjects with ASD [12, 13]
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