Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ASCO Annual Meeting 2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Keep up to date with all the top stories and latest evidence with our hub page, including official congress videos and expert takeaways.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Molecular Autism
Published in: Molecular Autism 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research

Atypical development of white matter microstructure of the corpus callosum in males with autism: a longitudinal investigation

Authors: Brittany G Travers, Do P M Tromp, Nagesh Adluru, Nicholas Lange, Dan Destiche, Chad Ennis, Jared A Nielsen, Alyson L Froehlich, Molly B D Prigge, P Thomas Fletcher, Jeffrey S Anderson, Brandon A Zielinski, Erin D Bigler, Janet E Lainhart, Andrew L Alexander

Published in: Molecular Autism | Issue 1/2015

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The corpus callosum is the largest white matter structure in the brain, and it is the most consistently reported to be atypical in diffusion tensor imaging studies of autism spectrum disorder. In individuals with typical development, the corpus callosum is known to undergo a protracted development from childhood through young adulthood. However, no study has longitudinally examined the developmental trajectory of corpus callosum in autism past early childhood.

Methods

The present study used a cohort sequential design over 9 years to examine age-related changes of the corpus callosum in 100 males with autism and 56 age-matched males with typical development from early childhood (when autism can first be reliably diagnosed) to mid-adulthood (after development of the corpus callosum has been completed) (3 to 41 years of age).

Results

The group with autism demonstrated a different developmental trajectory of white matter microstructure in the anterior corpus callosum’s (genu and body) fractional anisotropy, which suggests atypical brain maturation in these regions in autism. When analyses were broken down by age group, atypical developmental trajectories were present only in the youngest participants (10 years of age and younger). Significant main effects for group were found in terms of decreased fractional anisotropy across all three subregions of the corpus callosum (genu, body, and splenium) and increased mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and axial diffusivity in the posterior corpus callosum.

Conclusions

These longitudinal results suggest atypical early childhood development of the corpus callosum microstructure in autism that transitions into sustained group differences in adolescence and adulthood. This pattern of results provides longitudinal evidence consistent with a growing number of published studies and hypotheses regarding abnormal brain connectivity across the life span in autism.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Belmonte MK, Allen G, Beckel-Mitchener A, Boulanger LM, Carper RA, Webb SJ. Autism and abnormal development of brain connectivity. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci. 2004;24:9228–31.CrossRef
2.
Just MA, Cherkassky VL, Keller TA, Kana RK, Minshew NJ. Functional and anatomical cortical underconnectivity in autism: evidence from an FMRI study of an executive function task and corpus callosum morphometry. Cereb Cortex. 2007;17:951–61.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Kana RK, Keller TA, Cherkassky VL, Minshew NJ, Just MA. Sentence comprehension in autism: thinking in pictures with decreased functional connectivity. Brain J Neurol. 2006;129(Pt 9):2484–93.CrossRef
4.
Kitzbichler MG, Khan S, Ganesan S, Vangel MG, Herbert MR, Hämäläinen MS, et al. Altered development and multifaceted band-specific abnormalities of resting state networks in autism. Biol Psychiatry 2014
5.
Pajevic S, Basser PJ, Fields RD. Role of myelin plasticity in oscillations and synchrony of neuronal activity. Neuroscience. 2014;276:135–47.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Paul LK, Brown WS, Adolphs R, Tyszka JM, Richards LJ, Mukherjee P, et al. Agenesis of the corpus callosum: genetic, developmental and functional aspects of connectivity. Nat Rev. 2007;8:287–99.CrossRef
7.
Minshew NJ, Goldstein G, Siegel DJ. Neuropsychologic functioning in autism: profile of a complex information processing disorder. J Int Neuropsychol Soc JINS. 1997;3:303–16.
8.
Minshew NJ, Sweeney J, Luna B. Autism as a selective disorder of complex information processing and underdevelopment of neocortical systems. Mol Psychiatry. 2002;7 Suppl 2:S14–5.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Williams DL, Goldstein G, Minshew NJ. Neuropsychologic functioning in children with autism: further evidence for disordered complex information-processing. Child Neuropsychol J Norm Abnorm Dev Child Adolesc. 2006;12:279–98.
10.
Courchesne E, Press GA, Yeung-Courchesne R. Parietal lobe abnormalities detected with MR in patients with infantile autism. AJR American J Roentgenol. 1993;160:387–93.CrossRef
11.
Belmonte M, Egaas B, Townsend J, Courchesne E. NMR intensity of corpus callosum differs with age but not with diagnosis of autism. Neuroreport. 1995;6:1253–6.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Egaas B, Courchesne E, Saitoh O. Reduced size of corpus callosum in autism. Arch Neurol. 1995;52:794–801.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Piven J, Bailey J, Ranson BJ, Arndt S. An MRI study of the corpus callosum in autism. Am J Psychiatry. 1997;154:1051–6.CrossRefPubMed
14.
15.
Prigge MB, Lange N, Bigler ED, Merkley TL, Neeley ES, Abildskov TJ, et al. Corpus callosum area in children and adults with autism. Res Autism Spectr Disord. 2013;7:221–34.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
16.
17.
Di Martino A, Ross K, Uddin LQ, Sklar AB, Castellanos FX, Milham MP. Functional brain correlates of social and nonsocial processes in autism spectrum disorders: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Biol Psychiatry. 2009;65:63–74.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
18.
Anderson JS, Druzgal TJ, Froehlich A, DuBray MB, Lange N, Alexander AL, et al. Decreased interhemispheric functional connectivity in autism. Cereb Cortex. 2011;21:1134–46.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
19.
Dinstein I, Pierce K, Eyler L, Solso S, Malach R, Behrmann M, et al. Disrupted neural synchronization in toddlers with autism. Neuron. 2011;70:1218–25.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
20.
Lamantia AS, Rakic P. Cytological and quantitative characteristics of four cerebral commissures in the rhesus monkey. J Comp Neurol. 1990;291:520–37.CrossRefPubMed
21.
22.
Song SK, Sun SW, Ramsbottom MJ, Chang C, Russell J, Cross AH. Dysmyelination revealed through MRI as increased radial (but unchanged axial) diffusion of water. NeuroImage. 2002;17:1429–36.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Song SK, Yoshino J, Le TQ, Lin SJ, Sun SW, Cross AH, et al. Demyelination increases radial diffusivity in corpus callosum of mouse brain. NeuroImage. 2005;26:132–40.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Alexander AL, Hurley SA, Samsonov AA, Adluru N, Hosseinbor AP, Mossahebi P, et al. Characterization of cerebral white matter properties using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging stains. Brain Connect. 2011;1:423–46.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
25.
Travers BG, Adluru N, Ennis C, Tromp DPM, Destiche D, Doran S, et al. Diffusion tensor imaging in autism spectrum disorder: a review. Autism Res Off J Int Soc Autism Res. 2012;5:289–313.CrossRef
26.
Alexander AL, Lee JE, Lazar M, Field AS. Diffusion tensor imaging of the brain. Neurother J Am Soc Exp Neurother. 2007;4:316–29.CrossRef
27.
Alexander AL, Lee JE, Lazar M, Boudos R, DuBray MB, Oakes TR, et al. Diffusion tensor imaging of the corpus callosum in autism. NeuroImage. 2007;34:61–73.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Ameis SH, Fan J, Rockel C, Voineskos AN, Lobaugh NJ, Soorya L, et al. Impaired structural connectivity of socio-emotional circuits in autism spectrum disorders: a diffusion tensor imaging study. PLoS One. 2011;6:e28044.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
29.
Jeong JW, Kumar AK, Sundaram SK, Chugani HT, Chugani DC. Sharp curvature of frontal lobe white matter pathways in children with autism spectrum disorders: tract-based morphometry analysis. AJNR American J Neuroradiol. 2011;32:1600–6.CrossRef
30.
Shukla DK, Keehn B, Lincoln AJ, Muller RA. White matter compromise of callosal and subcortical fiber tracts in children with autism spectrum disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010;49:1269–78.PubMedCentralPubMed
31.
Shukla DK, Keehn B, Smylie DM, Muller RA. Microstructural abnormalities of short-distance white matter tracts in autism spectrum disorder. Neuropsychologia. 2011;49:1378–82.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
32.
Weinstein M, Ben-Sira L, Levy Y, Zachor DA, Ben Itzhak E, Artzi M, et al. Abnormal white matter integrity in young children with autism. Hum Brain Mapp. 2011;32:534–43.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Harsan LA, Poulet P, Guignard B, Steibel J, Parizel N, de Sousa PL, et al. Brain dysmyelination and recovery assessment by noninvasive in vivo diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. J Neurosci Res. 2006;83:392–402.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Tyszka JM, Readhead C, Bearer EL, Pautler RG, Jacobs RE. Statistical diffusion tensor histology reveals regional dysmyelination effects in the shiverer mouse mutant. NeuroImage. 2006;29:1058–65.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
35.
Ben Bashat D, Kronfeld-Duenias V, Zachor DA, Ekstein PM, Hendler T, Tarrasch R, et al. Accelerated maturation of white matter in young children with autism: a high b value DWI study. NeuroImage. 2007;37:40–7.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Cheng Y, Chou KH, Chen IY, Fan YT, Decety J, Lin CP. Atypical development of white matter microstructure in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. NeuroImage. 2010;50:873–82.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Cheung C, Chua SE, Cheung V, Khong PL, Tai KS, Wong TK, et al. White matter fractional anisotrophy differences and correlates of diagnostic symptoms in autism. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009;50:1102–12.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Ashtari M, Cervellione KL, Hasan KM, Wu J, McIlree C, Kester H, et al. White matter development during late adolescence in healthy males: a cross-sectional diffusion tensor imaging study. NeuroImage. 2007;35:501–10.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Barnea-Goraly N, Menon V, Eckert M, Tamm L, Bammer R, Karchemskiy A, et al. White matter development during childhood and adolescence: a cross-sectional diffusion tensor imaging study. Cereb Cortex. 2005;15:1848–54.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Giorgio A, Watkins KE, Douaud G, James AC, James S, De Stefano N, et al. Changes in white matter microstructure during adolescence. NeuroImage. 2008;39:52–61.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Giorgio A, Santelli L, Tomassini V, Bosnell R, Smith S, De Stefano N, et al. Age-related changes in grey and white matter structure throughout adulthood. NeuroImage. 2010;51:943–51.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
42.
Lebel C, Walker L, Leemans A, Phillips L, Beaulieu C. Microstructural maturation of the human brain from childhood to adulthood. NeuroImage. 2008;40:1044–55.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Lebel C, Beaulieu C. Longitudinal development of human brain wiring continues from childhood into adulthood. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci. 2011;31:10937–47.CrossRef
44.
Wolff JJ, Gu H, Gerig G, Elison JT, Styner M, Gouttard S, et al. Differences in white matter fiber tract development present from 6 to 24 months in infants with autism. Am J Psychiatry 2012
45.
Innocenti GM. Dynamic interactions between the cerebral hemispheres. Exp Brain Res Exp Hirnforsch Expérimentation Cérébrale. 2009;192:417–23.CrossRef
46.
Pietrasanta M, Restani L, Caleo M. The corpus callosum and the visual cortex: plasticity is a game for two. Neural Plast. 2012;2012:838672.PubMedCentralPubMed
47.
Nesselroade JR, Baltes PB. Longitudinal research in the study of behavior and development. Academic Press; 1979
48.
Lord C, Rutter M, Le Couteur A. Autism diagnostic interview-revised: a revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 1994;24:659–85.CrossRefPubMed
49.
Lord C, Risi S, Lambrecht L, Cook EH, Leventhal BL, DiLavore PC, et al. The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: a standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2000;30:205–23.CrossRefPubMed
50.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic criteria from DSM-IV-TR. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
51.
52.
Elliott C. The nature and structure of children’s abilities: evidence from the differential ability scales. J Psychoeduc Assess. 1990;8:376–90.CrossRef
53.
Wechsler D. The Wechsler intelligence scale for children. 3rd ed. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation; 1991.
54.
Wechsler D. Wechsler adult iintelligence scale-III (WAIS-III). San Antonio: Psychological Corporation; 1997.
55.
Wechsler D. Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence. New York: The Psychological Corporation: Harcourt Brace & Company; 1999.
56.
Reese TG, Heid O, Weisskoff RM, Wedeen VJ. Reduction of eddy-current-induced distortion in diffusion MRI using a twice-refocused spin echo. Magn Reson Med Off J Soc Magn Reson Med Soc Magn Reson Med. 2003;49:177–82.CrossRef
57.
58.
Leemans A, Jones DK. The B-matrix must be rotated when correcting for subject motion in DTI data. Magn Reson Med Off J Soc Magn Reson Med Soc Magn Reson Med. 2009;61:1336–49.CrossRef
59.
Chang LC, Jones DK, Pierpaoli C. RESTORE: robust estimation of tensors by outlier rejection. Magn Reson Med Off J Soc Magn Reson Med Soc Magn Reson Med. 2005;53:1088–95.CrossRef
60.
Cook PA, Bai Y, Nedjati-Gilanio S, Seunarine KK, Hall MG, Parker GJ, Alexander DC: Camino: open-source diffusion-MRI reconstruction and processing. Volume Seattle, WA; 2006:2759.
61.
Walker L, Chang LC, Koay CG, Sharma N, Cohen L, Verma R, et al. Effects of physiological noise in population analysis of diffusion tensor MRI data. NeuroImage. 2011;54:1168–77.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
62.
Benner T, van der Kouwe AJW, Sorensen AG. Diffusion imaging with prospective motion correction and reacquisition. Magn Reson Med Off J Soc Magn Reson Med Soc Magn Reson Med. 2011;66:154–67.CrossRef
63.
Yendiki A, Koldewyn K, Kakunoori S, Kanwisher N, Fischl B. Spurious group differences due to head motion in a diffusion MRI study. NeuroImage. 2013;88C:79–90.PubMed
64.
Zhang H, Yushkevich PA, Alexander DC, Gee JC. Deformable registration of diffusion tensor MR images with explicit orientation optimization. Med Image Anal. 2006;10:764–85.CrossRefPubMed
65.
Mori S, Wakana S, Nagae-Poetscher L, Van Zijl PC. MRI atlas of human white matter. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2005.
66.
Avants B, Gee JC. Geodesic estimation for large deformation anatomical shape averaging and interpolation. NeuroImage. 2004;23 Suppl 1:S139–50.CrossRefPubMed
67.
Faria AV, Hoon A, Stashinko E, Li X, Jiang H, Mashayekh A, et al. Quantitative analysis of brain pathology based on MRI and brain atlases - applications for cerebral palsy. NeuroImage. 2011;54:1854–61.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
68.
Walker L, Curry M, Nayak A, Lange N, Pierpaoli C. A framework for the analysis of phantom data in multicenter diffusion tensor imaging studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2012
69.
Hastie T. Generalized additive models. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall/CRC; 1999.
70.
Wood SN. Stable and efficient multiple smoothing parameter estimation for generalized additive models. J Am Stat Assoc. 2004;99
71.
Wood SN. Generalized additive models: an introduction with R. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall/CRC; 2006 [Texts in Statistical Science].
72.
Wood S, Scheipl F. gamm4: generalized additive mixed models using Mgcv and lme4. 2013.
73.
Alexander-Bloch AF, Reiss PT, Rapoport J, McAdams H, Giedd JN, Bullmore ET, et al. Abnormal cortical growth in schizophrenia targets normative modules of synchronized development. Biol Psychiatry. 2014;76:438–46.CrossRefPubMed
74.
Harezlak J, Ryan LM, Giedd JN, Lange N. Individual and population penalized regression splines for accelerated longitudinal designs. Biometrics. 2005;61:1037–48.CrossRefPubMed
75.
Xiao Z, Qiu T, Ke X, Xiao X, Xiao T, Liang F, et al. Autism spectrum disorder as early neurodevelopmental disorder: evidence from the brain imaging abnormalities in 2-3 years old toddlers. J Autism Dev Disord. 2014;44:1633–40.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
76.
Billeci L, Calderoni S, Tosetti M, Catani M, Muratori F. White matter connectivity in children with autism spectrum disorders: a tract-based spatial statistics study. BMC Neurol. 2012;12:148.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
77.
Koldewyn K, Yendiki A, Weigelt S, Gweon H, Julian J, Richardson H, et al. Differences in the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus but no general disruption of white matter tracts in children with autism spectrum disorder. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111:1981–6.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
78.
Hanaie R, Mohri I, Kagitani-Shimono K, Tachibana M, Matsuzaki J, Watanabe Y, et al. Abnormal corpus callosum connectivity, socio-communicative deficits, and motor deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. J Autism Dev Disord. 2014;44:2209–20.CrossRefPubMed
79.
Barnea-Goraly N, Kwon H, Menon V, Eliez S, Lotspeich L, Reiss AL. White matter structure in autism: preliminary evidence from diffusion tensor imaging. Biol Psychiatry. 2004;55:323–6.CrossRefPubMed
80.
Barnea-Goraly N, Lotspeich LJ, Reiss AL. Similar white matter aberrations in children with autism and their unaffected siblings: a diffusion tensor imaging study using tract-based spatial statistics. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67:1052–60.CrossRefPubMed
81.
Brito AR, Vasconcelos MM, Domingues RC, da Cruz Hygino LC, Lde Rodrigues S, Gasparetto EL, et al. Diffusion tensor imaging findings in school-aged autistic children. J Neuroimaging Off J Am Soc Neuroimaging. 2009;19:337–43.CrossRef
82.
Cheon KA, Kim YS, Oh SH, Park SY, Yoon HW, Herrington J, et al. Involvement of the anterior thalamic radiation in boys with high functioning autism spectrum disorders: a Diffusion Tensor Imaging study. Brain Res. 2011;1417:77–86.CrossRefPubMed
83.
Jou RJ, Jackowski AP, Papademetris X, Rajeevan N, Staib LH, Volkmar FR. Diffusion tensor imaging in autism spectrum disorders: preliminary evidence of abnormal neural connectivity. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2011;45:153–62.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
84.
Kumar A, Sundaram SK, Sivaswamy L, Behen ME, Makki MI, Ager J, et al. Alterations in frontal lobe tracts and corpus callosum in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Cereb Cortex. 2010;20:2103–13.CrossRefPubMed
85.
Noriuchi M, Kikuchi Y, Yoshiura T, Kira R, Shigeto H, Hara T, et al. Altered white matter fractional anisotropy and social impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder. Brain Res. 2010;1362:141–9.CrossRefPubMed
86.
Betzel RF, Byrge L, He Y, Goñi J, Zuo X-N, Sporns O. Changes in structural and functional connectivity among resting-state networks across the human lifespan. NeuroImage. 2014;102P2:345–57.CrossRef
87.
Mason RA, Williams DL, Kana RK, Minshew N, Just MA. Theory of mind disruption and recruitment of the right hemisphere during narrative comprehension in autism. Neuropsychologia. 2008;46:269–80.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
88.
Damarla SR, Keller TA, Kana RK, Cherkassky VL, Williams DL, Minshew NJ, et al. Cortical underconnectivity coupled with preserved visuospatial cognition in autism: evidence from an fMRI study of an embedded figures task. Autism Res Off J Int Soc Autism Res. 2010;3:273–9.CrossRef
89.
90.
Zielinski BA, Prigge MBD, Nielsen JA, Froehlich AL, Abildskov TJ, Anderson JS, et al. Longitudinal changes in cortical thickness in autism and typical development. Brain J Neurol. 2014;137:1799–812.CrossRef
91.
Booth R, Wallace GL, Happe F. Connectivity and the corpus callosum in autism spectrum conditions: insights from comparison of autism and callosal agenesis. Prog Brain Res. 2011;189:303–17.CrossRefPubMed
92.
Paul LK. Developmental malformation of the corpus callosum: a review of typical callosal development and examples of developmental disorders with callosal involvement. J Neurodev Disord. 2011;3:3–27.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
93.
Paul LK, Corsello C, Kennedy DP, Adolphs R. Agenesis of the corpus callosum and autism: a comprehensive comparison. Brain J Neurol. 2014;137(Pt 6):1813–29.CrossRef
94.
Hannay HJ, Dennis M, Kramer L, Blaser S, Fletcher JM. Partial agenesis of the corpus callosum in spina bifida meningomyelocele and potential compensatory mechanisms. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2009;31:180–94.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
95.
Willett JB, Singer JD, Martin NC. The design and analysis of longitudinal studies of development and psychopathology in context: statistical models and methodological recommendations. Dev Psychopathol. 1998;10:395–426.CrossRefPubMed
96.
Amundsen LB, Artru AA, Dager SR, Shaw DWW, Friedman S, Sparks B, et al. Propofol sedation for longitudinal pediatric neuroimaging research. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2005;17:180–92.CrossRefPubMed
97.
Lee JE, Bigler ED, Alexander AL, Lazar M, DuBray MB, Chung MK, et al. Diffusion tensor imaging of white matter in the superior temporal gyrus and temporal stem in autism. Neurosci Lett. 2007;424:127–32.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Atypical development of white matter microstructure of the corpus callosum in males with autism: a longitudinal investigation
Authors
Brittany G Travers
Do P M Tromp
Nagesh Adluru
Nicholas Lange
Dan Destiche
Chad Ennis
Jared A Nielsen
Alyson L Froehlich
Molly B D Prigge
P Thomas Fletcher
Jeffrey S Anderson
Brandon A Zielinski
Erin D Bigler
Janet E Lainhart
Andrew L Alexander
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Molecular Autism / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 2040-2392
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-015-0001-8

Other articles of this Issue 1/2015

Molecular Autism 1/2015 Go to the issue

Research

Auditory encoding abnormalities in children with autism spectrum disorder suggest delayed development of auditory cortex

Research

Platelet studies in autism spectrum disorder patients and first-degree relatives

Research

Examining social competence, self-perception, quality of life, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescent females with and without autism spectrum disorder: a quantitative design including between-groups and correlational analyses

Research

Genetic variant rs17225178 in the ARNT2 gene is associated with Asperger Syndrome

Research

Sex differences in structural organization of motor systems and their dissociable links with repetitive/restricted behaviors in children with autism

Research

A randomized, placebo controlled trial of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of young children with autism