TY - JOUR
T1 - Diffusion tensor imaging reveals no white matter impairments among adults with autism spectrum disorder
AU - Kirkovski, Melissa
AU - Enticott, Peter G.
AU - Maller, Jerome J.
AU - Rossell, Susan L.
AU - Fitzgerald, Paul B.
PY - 2015/7
Y1 - 2015/7
N2 - Abnormalities within white matter (WM) have been identified in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although there is some support for greater neurobiological deficits among females with ASD, there is little research investigating sex differences in WM in ASD. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate WM aberration in 25 adults with high-functioning ASD and 24 age-, sex- and IQ-matched controls. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to explore differences in WM in major tract bundles. The effects of biological sex were also investigated. TBSS revealed no differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), or axial diffusivity (AD) between groups. There were no effects of biological sex. We consider whether methodological differences between past studies have contributed to the highly heterogeneous findings in the literature. Finally, we suggest that, among a high-functioning sample of adults with ASD, differences in WM microstructure may not be related to clinical impairment.
AB - Abnormalities within white matter (WM) have been identified in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although there is some support for greater neurobiological deficits among females with ASD, there is little research investigating sex differences in WM in ASD. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate WM aberration in 25 adults with high-functioning ASD and 24 age-, sex- and IQ-matched controls. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to explore differences in WM in major tract bundles. The effects of biological sex were also investigated. TBSS revealed no differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), or axial diffusivity (AD) between groups. There were no effects of biological sex. We consider whether methodological differences between past studies have contributed to the highly heterogeneous findings in the literature. Finally, we suggest that, among a high-functioning sample of adults with ASD, differences in WM microstructure may not be related to clinical impairment.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - Diffusion tensor imaging
KW - Tract-based spatial statistics
KW - Gender
KW - Magnetic resonance imaging
UR - http://goo.gl/d7DyAr
U2 - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.05.003
DO - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.05.003
M3 - Article
VL - 233
SP - 64
EP - 72
JO - Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
JF - Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
SN - 0925-4927
IS - 1
ER -