Wang Hui, Ma Zeng-Hui, Xu Ling-Zi, Yang Liu, Ji Zhao-Zheng, Tang Xin-Zhou, Liu Jing-Ran, Li Xue, Cao Qing-Jiu, Liu Jing
Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100191, China.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2022 Jan 31;16(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s13034-022-00443-4.
Structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) studies have shown atypicalities in structural brain changes in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while a noticeable discrepancy in their results indicates the necessity of conducting further researches.
The current study investigated the atypical structural brain features of autistic individuals who aged 6-30 years old. A total of 52 autistic individuals and 50 age-, gender-, and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched typically developing (TD) individuals were included in this study, and were assigned into three based cohorts: childhood (6-12 years old), adolescence (13-18 years old), and adulthood (19-30 years old). Analyses of whole-brain volume and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on the sMRI data were conducted.
No significant difference was found in the volumes of whole-brain, gray matter, and white matter between the autism and TD groups in the three age-based cohorts. For VBM analyses, the volumes of gray matter in the right superior temporal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule in the autism group (6-12 years old) were smaller than those in the TD group; the gray matter volume in the left inferior parietal lobule in the autism group (13-18 years old) was larger than that in the TD group; the gray matter volume in the right middle occipital gyrus in the autism group (19-30 years old) was larger than that in the TD group, and the gray matter volume in the left posterior cingulate gyrus in the autism group was smaller than that in the TD group.
Autistic individuals showed different atypical regional gray matter volumetric changes in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood compared to their TD peers, indicating that it is essential to consider developmental stages of the brain when exploring brain structural atypicalities in autism.
结构磁共振成像（sMRI）研究表明，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）个体的大脑结构变化存在异常，而研究结果存在明显差异，这表明有必要进行进一步研究。
本研究调查了6至30岁自闭症个体的大脑结构异常特征。本研究共纳入52名自闭症个体和50名年龄、性别及智商（IQ）匹配的典型发育（TD）个体，并将其分为三个年龄组队列：儿童期（6至12岁）、青少年期（13至18岁）和成年期（19至30岁）。对sMRI数据进行全脑体积分析和基于体素的形态学测量（VBM）。
在三个基于年龄的队列中，自闭症组和TD组在全脑、灰质和白质体积上均未发现显著差异。对于VBM分析，自闭症组（6至12岁）右侧颞上回和右侧顶下小叶的灰质体积小于TD组；自闭症组（13至18岁）左侧顶下小叶的灰质体积大于TD组；自闭症组（19至30岁）右侧枕中回的灰质体积大于TD组，而自闭症组左侧后扣带回的灰质体积小于TD组。
与TD同龄人相比，自闭症个体在儿童期、青少年期和成年期表现出不同的区域灰质体积异常变化，这表明在探索自闭症患者的大脑结构异常时，考虑大脑发育阶段至关重要。
