Oner Ozgür, Ozgüven Halise Devrimci, Oktem Ferhunde, Yağmurlu Banu, Baskak Bora, Olmez Senay, Munir Kerim
Turk Psikiyatri Derg. 2009 Spring;20(1):22-7.
It has been shown that autistic spectrum patients have impaired theory of mind (ToM) performance; however, no study has investigated the relationship between ToM performance and brain neurochemistry in these patients. The present study aimed to investigate the correlations between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA)/choline (Cho), NAA/creatine (Cr), and Cho/Cr values based on H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and ToM tests.
The study sample included 13 adult, right-handed, Caucasian males with Asperger’s syndrome (AS) (age range: 17–37 years) and 20 controls matched by age, gender, handedness, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised (WAIS-R) full-scale IQ scores.
AS cases had significantly lower ToM performance. DLPFC NAA/Cho levels were inversely correlated to ToM scores (r = −0.738, P = 0.004). On the other hand, ToM performance improved as DLPFC Cho/Cr increased (r = 0.656, P = 0.015). ACC MRS variables were not significantly correlated with ToM performance in the AS group. No significant correlation was observed between ACC or DLPFC MRS variables and ToM performance in the control group. Discussion: Because NAA/Cho was inversely correlated with ToM performance and Cho/Cr was correlated with ToM performance, it can be suggested that the Cho level was related to better ToM test performance in the AS group. An increase in the Cho peak was associated with an increase in membrane breakdown or turnover. The Cho peak was also thought to reflect cellular density and astrocytosis. It is suggested that membrane turnover and astrocytosis might affect cognitive functioning.
研究表明，自闭症谱系障碍患者存在心理理论（ToM）表现受损的情况；然而，尚无研究探讨这些患者的ToM表现与脑内神经化学之间的关系。本研究旨在基于氢磁共振波谱和ToM测试，探究背外侧前额叶皮质（DLPFC）及前扣带回皮质（ACC）的N-乙酰天门冬氨酸（NAA）/胆碱（Cho）、NAA/肌酸（Cr）以及Cho/Cr值之间的相关性。
研究样本包括13名患有阿斯伯格综合征（AS）的成年、右利手、白种男性（年龄范围：17 - 37岁）以及20名在年龄、性别、利手和韦氏成人智力量表修订版（WAIS-R）全量表智商得分上与之匹配的对照组。
AS患者的ToM表现显著更低。DLPFC的NAA/Cho水平与ToM得分呈负相关（r = -0.738，P = 0.004）。另一方面，随着DLPFC的Cho/Cr升高，ToM表现有所改善（r = 0.656，P = 0.015）。在AS组中，ACC磁共振波谱变量与ToM表现无显著相关性。在对照组中，ACC或DLPFC磁共振波谱变量与ToM表现之间未观察到显著相关性。讨论：由于NAA/Cho与ToM表现呈负相关，且Cho/Cr与ToM表现相关，故可推测在AS组中Cho水平与更好的ToM测试表现相关。Cho峰的增加与膜分解或更新的增加有关。Cho峰也被认为反映细胞密度和星形细胞增生。提示膜更新和星形细胞增生可能影响认知功能。
