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Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Reveal Altered Relationship Between Non-verbal Reasoning Abilities and White Matter Integrity in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2013

Timothy M. Ellmore ,
Hai Li ,
Zhong Xue ,
Stephen T.C. Wong  and
Richard E. Frye
Timothy M. Ellmore*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, The City College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York
Hai Li
Affiliation:
Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, Texas
Zhong Xue
Affiliation:
Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, Texas
Stephen T.C. Wong
Affiliation:
Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, Texas
Richard E. Frye
Affiliation:
Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Timothy M. Ellmore, Department of Psychology, NAC 7/120, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031. E-mail: tellmore@ccny.cuny.edu
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Abstract

Altered brain connectivity accompanies autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but the relationship between connectivity and intellectual abilities, which often differs within ASD, and between ASD and typically developing (TD) children, is not understood. Here, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to explore the relationship between white matter integrity and non-verbal intelligence quotients (IQ) in children with ASD and in age- and gender-matched TD children. Tract-based spatial statistical analyses (TBSS) of DTI fractional anisotropy (FA) revealed altered relationships between white matter and IQ. Different relationships were found using within-group analyses, where regions of significant (p < .05, corrected) correlations in ASD overlapped minimally with regions of FA-IQ correlations in TD subjects. An additional between-groups analysis revealed significant correlation differences in widespread cortical and subcortical areas. These preliminary findings suggest altered brain connectivity may underlie some differences in intellectual abilities of ASD, and should be investigated further in larger samples as a function of development. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–6)

Keywords

AutismIntelligence testsChild developmentWhite matterDiffusion tensor imagingTractography
Type
Brief Communication
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 19 , Issue 6 , July 2013 , pp. 723 - 728
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013 

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