Altered Neural Connectivity in Females, But Not Males with Autism: Preliminary Evidence for the Female Protective Effect from a Quality-Controlled Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study / J. LEI in Autism Research, 12-10 (October 2019)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism Research > 12-10 (October 2019) . - p.1472-1483 Titre : Altered Neural Connectivity in Females, But Not Males with Autism: Preliminary Evidence for the Female Protective Effect from a Quality-Controlled Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : J. LEI, Auteur ; E. LECARIE, Auteur ; J. JURAYJ, Auteur ; S. BOLAND, Auteur ; D. G. SUKHODOLSKY, Auteur ; Pamela VENTOLA, Auteur ; Kevin A. PELPHREY, Auteur ; R. J. JOU, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.1472-1483 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : anisotropy  autism spectrum disorder  diffusion tensor imaging  female  motion  sex characteristics Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Previous studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter (WM) structural connectivity have suggested widespread, although inconsistent WM alterations in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as greater reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA). However, findings may lack generalizability because: (a) most have focused solely on the ASD male brain phenotype, and not sex-differences in WM integrity; (b) many lack stringent and transparent data quality control such as controlling for head motion in analysis. This study addressed both issues by using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) to separately compare WM differences in 81 ASD (56 male, 25 female; 4-21 years old) and 39 typically developing (TD; 23 males, 16 females; 5-18 years old) children and young people, carefully group-matched on sex, age, cognitive abilities, and head motion. ASD males and females were also matched on autism symptom severity. Two independent-raters completed a multistep scan quality assurance to remove images that were significantly distorted by motion artifacts before analysis. ASD females exhibited significant widespread reductions in FA compared to TD females, suggesting altered WM integrity. In contrast, no significant localized or widespread WM differences were found between ASD and TD males. This study highlights the importance of data quality control in DTI, and outlines important sex-differences in WM alterations in ASD females. Future studies can explore the extent to which neural structural differences might underlie sex-differences in ASD behavioral phenotype, and guide clinical interventions to be tailored toward the unique needs of ASD females and males. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1472-1483. (c) 2019 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Previous Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies have found atypical brain structural connectivity in males with autism, although findings are inconclusive in females with autism. To investigate potential sex-differences, we studied males and females with and without autism who showed a similar level of head movement during their brain scan. We found that females with autism had widespread atypical neural connectivity than females without autism, although not in males, highlighting sex-differences. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2180 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=408 [article] Altered Neural Connectivity in Females, But Not Males with Autism: Preliminary Evidence for the Female Protective Effect from a Quality-Controlled Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / J. LEI, Auteur ; E. LECARIE, Auteur ; J. JURAYJ, Auteur ; S. BOLAND, Auteur ; D. G. SUKHODOLSKY, Auteur ; Pamela VENTOLA, Auteur ; Kevin A. PELPHREY, Auteur ; R. J. JOU, Auteur . - p.1472-1483. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism Research > 12-10 (October 2019) . - p.1472-1483 Mots-clés : anisotropy  autism spectrum disorder  diffusion tensor imaging  female  motion  sex characteristics Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Previous studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter (WM) structural connectivity have suggested widespread, although inconsistent WM alterations in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as greater reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA). However, findings may lack generalizability because: (a) most have focused solely on the ASD male brain phenotype, and not sex-differences in WM integrity; (b) many lack stringent and transparent data quality control such as controlling for head motion in analysis. This study addressed both issues by using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) to separately compare WM differences in 81 ASD (56 male, 25 female; 4-21 years old) and 39 typically developing (TD; 23 males, 16 females; 5-18 years old) children and young people, carefully group-matched on sex, age, cognitive abilities, and head motion. ASD males and females were also matched on autism symptom severity. Two independent-raters completed a multistep scan quality assurance to remove images that were significantly distorted by motion artifacts before analysis. ASD females exhibited significant widespread reductions in FA compared to TD females, suggesting altered WM integrity. In contrast, no significant localized or widespread WM differences were found between ASD and TD males. This study highlights the importance of data quality control in DTI, and outlines important sex-differences in WM alterations in ASD females. Future studies can explore the extent to which neural structural differences might underlie sex-differences in ASD behavioral phenotype, and guide clinical interventions to be tailored toward the unique needs of ASD females and males. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1472-1483. (c) 2019 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Previous Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies have found atypical brain structural connectivity in males with autism, although findings are inconclusive in females with autism. To investigate potential sex-differences, we studied males and females with and without autism who showed a similar level of head movement during their brain scan. We found that females with autism had widespread atypical neural connectivity than females without autism, although not in males, highlighting sex-differences. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2180 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=408

Cortical morphological markers in children with autism: a structural magnetic resonance imaging study of thickness, area, volume, and gyrification / D. Y. YANG in Molecular Autism, 7 (2016)  

Public ISBD [article]  inMolecular Autism > 7 (2016) . - 11p. Titre : Cortical morphological markers in children with autism: a structural magnetic resonance imaging study of thickness, area, volume, and gyrification Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : D. Y. YANG, Auteur ; D. BEAM, Auteur ; Kevin A. PELPHREY, Auteur ; Sebiha M. ABDULLAHI, Auteur ; R. J. JOU, Auteur Article en page(s) : 11p. Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Age Factors  Cerebral Cortex/pathology  Child  Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/pathology  Child, Preschool  Gray Matter/pathology  Humans  Image Processing, Computer-Assisted  Magnetic Resonance Imaging  Male  Neuroimaging  Organ Size  White Matter/pathology  Autism spectrum disorder  Brain development  Brain structure  Neuroanatomy  Surface-based morphometry Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been characterized by altered cerebral cortical structures; however, the field has yet to identify consistent markers and prior studies have included mostly adolescents and adults. While there are multiple cortical morphological measures, including cortical thickness, surface area, cortical volume, and cortical gyrification, few single studies have examined all these measures. The current study analyzed all of the four measures and focused on pre-adolescent children with ASD. METHODS: We employed the FreeSurfer pipeline to examine surface-based morphometry in 60 high-functioning boys with ASD (mean age = 8.35 years, range = 4-12 years) and 41 gender-, age-, and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) peers (mean age = 8.83 years), while testing for age-by-diagnosis interaction and between-group differences. RESULTS: During childhood and in specific regions, ASD participants exhibited a lack of normative age-related cortical thinning and volumetric reduction and an abnormal age-related increase in gyrification. Regarding surface area, ASD and TD exhibited statistically comparable age-related development during childhood. Across childhood, ASD relative to TD participants tended to have higher mean levels of gyrification in specific regions. Within ASD, those with higher Social Responsiveness Scale total raw scores tended to have greater age-related increase in gyrification in specific regions during childhood. CONCLUSIONS: ASD is characterized by cortical neuroanatomical abnormalities that are age-, measure-, statistical model-, and region-dependent. The current study is the first to examine the development of all four cortical measures in one of the largest pre-adolescent samples. Strikingly, Neurosynth-based quantitative reverse inference of the surviving clusters suggests that many of the regions identified above are related to social perception, language, self-referential, and action observation networks-those frequently found to be functionally altered in individuals with ASD. The comprehensive, multilevel analyses across a wide range of cortical measures help fill a knowledge gap and present a complex but rich picture of neuroanatomical developmental differences in children with ASD. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-016-0076-x Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=329 [article] Cortical morphological markers in children with autism: a structural magnetic resonance imaging study of thickness, area, volume, and gyrification [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / D. Y. YANG, Auteur ; D. BEAM, Auteur ; Kevin A. PELPHREY, Auteur ; Sebiha M. ABDULLAHI, Auteur ; R. J. JOU, Auteur . - 11p. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Molecular Autism > 7 (2016) . - 11p. Mots-clés : Age Factors  Cerebral Cortex/pathology  Child  Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/pathology  Child, Preschool  Gray Matter/pathology  Humans  Image Processing, Computer-Assisted  Magnetic Resonance Imaging  Male  Neuroimaging  Organ Size  White Matter/pathology  Autism spectrum disorder  Brain development  Brain structure  Neuroanatomy  Surface-based morphometry Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been characterized by altered cerebral cortical structures; however, the field has yet to identify consistent markers and prior studies have included mostly adolescents and adults. While there are multiple cortical morphological measures, including cortical thickness, surface area, cortical volume, and cortical gyrification, few single studies have examined all these measures. The current study analyzed all of the four measures and focused on pre-adolescent children with ASD. METHODS: We employed the FreeSurfer pipeline to examine surface-based morphometry in 60 high-functioning boys with ASD (mean age = 8.35 years, range = 4-12 years) and 41 gender-, age-, and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) peers (mean age = 8.83 years), while testing for age-by-diagnosis interaction and between-group differences. RESULTS: During childhood and in specific regions, ASD participants exhibited a lack of normative age-related cortical thinning and volumetric reduction and an abnormal age-related increase in gyrification. Regarding surface area, ASD and TD exhibited statistically comparable age-related development during childhood. Across childhood, ASD relative to TD participants tended to have higher mean levels of gyrification in specific regions. Within ASD, those with higher Social Responsiveness Scale total raw scores tended to have greater age-related increase in gyrification in specific regions during childhood. CONCLUSIONS: ASD is characterized by cortical neuroanatomical abnormalities that are age-, measure-, statistical model-, and region-dependent. The current study is the first to examine the development of all four cortical measures in one of the largest pre-adolescent samples. Strikingly, Neurosynth-based quantitative reverse inference of the surviving clusters suggests that many of the regions identified above are related to social perception, language, self-referential, and action observation networks-those frequently found to be functionally altered in individuals with ASD. The comprehensive, multilevel analyses across a wide range of cortical measures help fill a knowledge gap and present a complex but rich picture of neuroanatomical developmental differences in children with ASD. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-016-0076-x Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=329

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