TY - JOUR
T1 - Increased left hemisphere impairment in high-functioning autism
T2 - A tract based spatial statistics study
AU - Perkins, Thomas John
AU - Stokes, Mark Andrew
AU - McGillivray, Jane Anne
AU - Mussap, Alexander Julien
AU - Cox, Ivanna Anne
AU - Maller, Jerome Joseph
AU - Bittar, Richard Garth
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
PY - 2014/11/30
Y1 - 2014/11/30
N2 - There is evidence emerging from Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) research that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with greater impairment in the left hemisphere. Although this has been quantified with volumetric region of interest analyses, it has yet to be tested with white matter integrity analysis. In the present study, tract based spatial statistics was used to contrast white matter integrity of 12 participants with high-functioning autism or Aspergers syndrome (HFA/AS) with 12 typically developing individuals. Fractional Anisotropy (FA) was examined, in addition to axial, radial and mean diffusivity (AD, RD and MD). In the left hemisphere, participants with HFA/AS demonstrated significantly reduced FA in predominantly thalamic and fronto-parietal pathways and increased RD. Symmetry analyses confirmed that in the HFA/AS group, WM disturbance was significantly greater in the left compared to right hemisphere. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature suggestive of reduced FA in ASD, and provide preliminary evidence for RD impairments in the left hemisphere.
AB - There is evidence emerging from Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) research that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with greater impairment in the left hemisphere. Although this has been quantified with volumetric region of interest analyses, it has yet to be tested with white matter integrity analysis. In the present study, tract based spatial statistics was used to contrast white matter integrity of 12 participants with high-functioning autism or Aspergers syndrome (HFA/AS) with 12 typically developing individuals. Fractional Anisotropy (FA) was examined, in addition to axial, radial and mean diffusivity (AD, RD and MD). In the left hemisphere, participants with HFA/AS demonstrated significantly reduced FA in predominantly thalamic and fronto-parietal pathways and increased RD. Symmetry analyses confirmed that in the HFA/AS group, WM disturbance was significantly greater in the left compared to right hemisphere. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature suggestive of reduced FA in ASD, and provide preliminary evidence for RD impairments in the left hemisphere.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - Diffusion Tensor Imaging
KW - Fractional Anisotropy
KW - Radial Diffusivity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84907974459&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.08.003
DO - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.08.003
M3 - Article
SN - 0925-4927
VL - 224
SP - 119
EP - 123
JO - Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
JF - Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
IS - 2
ER -