RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Sharp Curvature of Frontal Lobe White Matter Pathways in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Tract-Based Morphometry Analysis
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 1600
OP 1606
DO 10.3174/ajnr.A2557
VO 32
IS 9
A1 Jeong, J.-W.
A1 Kumar, A.K.
A1 Sundaram, S.K.
A1 Chugani, H.T.
A1 Chugani, D.C.
YR 2011
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/32/9/1600.abstract
AB BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Because we had previously observed geometric changes of frontal lobe association pathways in children with ASD, in the present study we analyzed the curvature of these white matter pathways by using an objective TBM analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diffusion tensor imaging was performed in 32 children with ASD and 14 children with typical development. Curvature, FA, AD, and RD of bilateral AF, UF, and gCC were investigated by using the TBM group analysis assessed by PFDR for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Significantly higher curvatures were found in children with ASD, especially at the parietotemporal junction for AF (left, PFDR < .001; right, PFDR < .01), at the frontotemporal junction for UF (left, PFDR < .005; right, PFDR < .03), and at the midline of the gCC (PFDR < .0001). RD was significantly higher in children with ASD at the same bending regions of AF (left, PFDR < .03, right, PFDR < .02), UF (left, PFDR < .04), and gCC (PFDR < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Higher curvature and curvature-dependent RD changes in children with ASD may be the result of higher attenuation of thinner axons in these frontal lobe tracts. ADaxial diffusivityAFarcuate fasciculusASDautism spectrum disordersCCcorpus callosumCgcingulumDTIdiffusion tensor imagingFAfractional anisotropygCCgenu of corpus callosumGMgray matterMDmean diffusivityMNIMontreal Neurologic InstitutePFDRfalse discovery rate P valueRDradial diffusivityROIregion of interestTBMtract-based morphometryTDtypically developingUFuncinate fasciculus