Abstract
The term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes a wide variability of clinical presentation, and this clinical heterogeneity seems to reflect a still unclear multifactorial etiopathogenesis, encompassing different genetic risk factors and susceptibility to environmental factors. Several studies and many theories recognize as mechanisms of autism a disruption of brain development and maturation time course, suggesting the existence of common neurobiological substrates, such as defective synaptic structure and aberrant brain connectivity. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in both assessment of region-specific structural changes and quantification of specific alterations in gray or white matter, which could lead to the identification of an MRI biomarker. In this study, we performed measurement of cortical thickness in a selected well-known group of preschool ASD subjects with the aim of finding correlation between cortical metrics and clinical scores to understand the underlying mechanism of symptoms and to support early clinical diagnosis. Our results confirm that recent brain MRI techniques combined with clinical data can provide some useful information in defining the cerebral regions involved in ASD although large sample studies with homogeneous analytical and multisite approaches are needed.
Highlights
The term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes a wide variability of clinical presentation (Lord et al, 2000), which seems to reflect a multifactorial etiopathogenesis, still unclear, encompassing different genetic risk factors and susceptibility to environmental factors (Dietert et al, 2011; Tordjman et al, 2014)
Disruption of brain development and the maturation time course has been recognized as mechanism of autism (Amaral et al, 2008), suggesting the existence of common
Several studies have assessed the utility of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of region-specific structural changes and quantification of specific alterations in gray (GM) or white matter (WM) [in terms of cortical thickness, gyrification index, GM surface and volume (Pagnozzi et al, 2018)]
Summary
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by the presence of impaired social communication and unusually repetitive behaviors or restricted interests (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Several studies have assessed the utility of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of region-specific structural changes and quantification of specific alterations in gray (GM) or white matter (WM) [in terms of cortical thickness, gyrification index, GM surface and volume (Pagnozzi et al, 2018)]. The authors found complex developmental trajectories involving different brain regions with significant differences in terms of increased cortical thickness in the frontal cortex and decreased thickness in the temporal cortex between ASD patients and controls during adolescence. No studies have investigated the correlation between clinical, genetic, and radiological findings in a well-selected pediatric population
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