Altered cerebellar feedback projections in Asperger syndrome

Autism Attenuates Sex Differences in Brain Structure: A Combined Voxel-Based Morphometry and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

“…Our DTI results demonstrate AS-related changes in microstructural organization, consistent with reduced axonal density or myelination, 49 in the CC, cingulum, and CR, as inconsistently reported in previous literature, [32][33][34][35][36][37] selectively in males but not in females. Studies of patients with callosal agenesis have demonstrated that reduced interhemispheric connectivity, in addition to impacting intelligence quotient intellect and information integration, may lead to specific emotional and social deficits resembling those typical of ASCs.…”

“…29,30 Some functional neuroimaging evidence is consistent with this hypothesis, but a coherent account of the neural underpinnings of ASCs has yet to emerge. 31 FA has been found to be lower than that in controls in the CC, 32,33 frontal white matter, 34 superior temporal gyrus, 35 anterior cingulum, 36 and cerebellum, 37 indicating reduced connectivity. Relatively small sample sizes, clinical variability, and methodologic differences may, in part, account for this heterogeneity of findings.…”

The intellectual profiles of high functioning elderly persons with an autism spectrum disorder

“…Another possibility is that the impairment of individuals with autism in some way 'catches up with' the increasing impairment in several cognitive areas that characterizes normal aging. It has also been hypothesized that the larger brain volume, which has been suggested in autism, may be a protective factor for age-related brain changes [5,25]. Based on these theoretical assumptions and the findings of [8], it appears most likely that aging in people with autism is the same as in typical individuals in some cognitive domains, while in other cognitive domains different aging patterns are shown.…”

Structural Neural Phenotype of Autism: Preliminary Evidence from a Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study Using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics

“…[8][9][10][11] Finally, there are now many DTI studies that have consistently demonstrated abnormalities in FA in the brains of ASD participants. [12][13][14][15][16][17] Because FA is a widely accepted measure of the structural integrity of white matter, 18 these studies have collectively demonstrated a pattern of findings consistent with neural disconnectivity in ASD. However, given the significant heterogeneity in methodologies and participants in these studies, it is difficult to identify a common underlying pattern of neuropathology across all studies.…”