Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Jiangyin Hospital of Southeast University Medical College, Jiangyin, 214400 China.
Child Mental Health Research Center of Nanjing Brain Hospital affiliated of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029 China.
Psychiatry Res. 2011 Dec 30;194(3):333-339. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.03.009. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
The corpus callosum (CC) has emerged as one of the primary targets of autism research. To detect aberrant CC interhemispheric connectivity in autism, we performed T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based tractography in 18 children with high functioning autism (HFA) and 16 well-matched typically developing (TD) children. We compared global and regional T1 measures (CC volume, and CC density), and the DTI measures [fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), average fiber length (AFL), and fiber number (FN)] of transcallosal fibers, between the two groups. We also evaluated the relationships between scores on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and CC T1 or DTI measurements. Significantly less white matter density in the anterior third of the CC, and higher ADC and lower FN values of the anterior third transcallosal fiber tracts were found in HFA patients compared to TD children. These results suggested that the anterior third CC density and transcallosal fiber connectivity were affected in HFA children.
胼胝体（CC）已成为自闭症研究的主要目标之一。为了检测自闭症中 CC 半球间连接的异常，我们对 18 名高功能自闭症（HFA）儿童和 16 名匹配良好的正常发育（TD）儿童进行了 T1 加权磁共振成像（MRI）和基于弥散张量成像（DTI）的束追踪。我们比较了两组之间的全局和区域 T1 测量值（CC 体积和 CC 密度）以及胼胝体纤维的 DTI 测量值[各向异性分数（FA）、表观扩散系数（ADC）、平均纤维长度（AFL）和纤维数量（FN）]。我们还评估了儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）评分与 CC T1 或 DTI 测量值之间的关系。与 TD 儿童相比，HFA 患者的 CC 前 1/3 部分的白质密度明显降低，前 1/3 胼胝体纤维束的 ADC 值较高，FN 值较低。这些结果表明，HFA 儿童的 CC 前 1/3 密度和胼胝体纤维连接受到影响。
