Toal Fiona, Bloemen Oswald J N, Deeley Quinton, Tunstall Nigel, Daly Eileen M, Page Lisa, Brammer Michael J, Murphy Kieran C, Murphy Declan G M
Department of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Br J Psychiatry. 2009 May;194(5):418-25. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.107.049007.
Autism-spectrum disorder is increasingly recognised, with recent studies estimating that 1% of children in South London are affected. However, the biology of comorbid mental health problems in people with autism-spectrum disorder is poorly understood.
To investigate the brain anatomy of people with autism-spectrum disorder with and without psychosis.
We used in vivo magnetic resonance imaging and compared 30 adults with autism-spectrum disorder (14 with a history psychosis) and 16 healthy controls.
Compared with controls both autism-spectrum disorder groups had significantly less grey matter bilaterally in the temporal lobes and the cerebellum. In contrast, they had increased grey matter in striatal regions. However, those with psychosis also had a significant reduction in grey matter content of frontal and occipital regions. Contrary to our expectation, within autism-spectrum disorder, comparisons revealed that psychosis was associated with a reduction in grey matter of the right insular cortex and bilaterally in the cerebellum extending into the fusiform gyrus and the lingual gyrus.
The presence of neurodevelopmental abnormalities normally associated with autism-spectrum disorder might represent an alternative 'entry-point' into a final common pathway of psychosis.
自闭症谱系障碍越来越受到关注，最近的研究估计伦敦南部1%的儿童受到影响。然而，自闭症谱系障碍患者共病心理健康问题的生物学机制尚不清楚。
研究有或无精神病的自闭症谱系障碍患者的脑解剖结构。
我们使用活体磁共振成像，比较了30名自闭症谱系障碍成年人（14名有精神病病史）和16名健康对照者。
与对照组相比，两个自闭症谱系障碍组双侧颞叶和小脑的灰质均显著减少。相比之下，他们纹状体区域的灰质增加。然而，有精神病的患者额叶和枕叶的灰质含量也显著减少。与我们的预期相反，在自闭症谱系障碍患者中，比较发现精神病与右侧岛叶皮质以及双侧小脑延伸至梭状回和舌回的灰质减少有关。
通常与自闭症谱系障碍相关的神经发育异常可能代表了精神病最终共同通路的另一个“切入点”。
