Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
JAMA Psychiatry. 2013 Jan;70(1):59-70. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.265.
Neuroimaging studies of brain anatomy in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have mostly been based on measures of cortical volume (CV). However, CV is a product of 2 distinct parameters, cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA), that in turn have distinct genetic and developmental origins.
To investigate regional differences in CV, SA, and CT as well as their relationship in a large and well-characterized sample of men with ASD and matched controls.
Multicenter case-control design using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.
Medical Research Council UK Autism Imaging Multicentre Study.
A total of 168 men, 84 diagnosed as having ASD and 84 controls who did not differ significantly in mean (SD) age (26 [7] years vs 28 [6] years, respectively) or full-scale IQ (110 [14] vs 114 [12], respectively).
Between-group differences in CV, SA, and CT investigated using a spatially unbiased vertex-based approach; the degree of spatial overlap between the differences in CT and SA; and their relative contribution to differences in regional CV.
Individuals with ASD differed from controls in all 3 parameters. These mainly consisted of significantly increased CT within frontal lobe regions and reduced SA in the orbitofrontal cortex and posterior cingulum. These differences in CT and SA were paralleled by commensurate differences in CV. The spatially distributed patterns for CT and SA were largely nonoverlapping and shared only about 3% of all significantly different locations on the cerebral surface.
Individuals with ASD have significant differences in CV, but these may be underpinned by (separable) variations in its 2 components, CT and SA. This is of importance because both measures result from distinct developmental pathways that are likely modulated by different neurobiological mechanisms. This finding may provide novel targets for future studies into the etiology of the condition and a new way to fractionate the disorder.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的神经影像学研究主要基于皮质体积（CV）的测量。然而，CV 是皮质厚度（CT）和表面积（SA）这两个不同参数的产物，而这两个参数又有不同的遗传和发育起源。
在一个大型且特征良好的 ASD 男性样本和匹配对照组中，研究 CV、SA 和 CT 的区域差异及其相互关系。
使用定量磁共振成像的多中心病例对照设计。
英国医学研究理事会自闭症成像多中心研究。
共 168 名男性，84 名被诊断为 ASD，84 名对照组在平均（SD）年龄（分别为 26[7]岁和 28[6]岁）或全量表智商（分别为 110[14]和 114[12]）方面无显著差异。
使用空间无偏顶点方法研究 CV、SA 和 CT 的组间差异；CT 和 SA 差异之间的空间重叠程度；以及它们对区域 CV 差异的相对贡献。
ASD 个体与对照组在所有 3 个参数上均存在差异。这些差异主要包括额区 CT 显著增加，眶额皮质和后扣带回 SA 减少。CT 和 SA 的这些差异与 CV 的相应差异相平行。CT 和 SA 的空间分布模式大部分不重叠，仅共享大脑表面约 3%的显著差异部位。
ASD 个体的 CV 存在显著差异，但这些差异可能是由其 2 个组成部分 CT 和 SA 的（可分离）变化所支撑。这一点很重要，因为这两个指标都来自不同的发育途径，可能受到不同神经生物学机制的调节。这一发现可能为该疾病病因的未来研究提供新的靶点，并为该疾病的新分类方法提供了一种途径。
