Altered microstructural connectivity of the arcuate fasciculus is related to language disability in children with autism spectrum disorder

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  • Kimura Mika
    Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University
  • Hanaie Ryuzo
    Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University
  • Mohri Ikuko
    Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University:Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University:Department of Pediatrics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
  • Kagitani-Shimono Kuriko
    Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University:Department of Pediatrics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
  • Tachibana Masaya
    Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University:Department of Pediatrics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
  • Matsuzaki Junko
    Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University
  • Fujita Norihiko
    Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
  • Watanabe Yoshiyuki
    Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
  • Taniike Masako
    Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University:Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University:Department of Pediatrics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine

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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by a number of functional abnormalities including disruptions to language. Recently, abnormal connectivity in the brain has been reported as a neuronal basis of functional impairments in ASD. Using tractographical analysis of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) by Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), we attempted to clarify the neuropsychological basis for the language impairment in ASD by investigating thirteen school-aged children with ASD and eleven age- and IQ-matched control subjects. As a result of the DTI examination, no statistically significant differences in the values of fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and mean diffusivity were found. In both TD and ASD groups, the FA score of the AF was higher in the left hemisphere than it was in the right. We revealed that in children with ASD, the FA values of the left AF showed a positive correlation between age, verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ), and full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ). In addition, a negative correlation was found between RD values on the left AF with VIQ, FSIQ, and age in children with ASD. This is the first report to reveal a correlation between microconnectivity of the AF and VIQ in children diagnosed with ASD. Therefore, these findings suggest that the altered microstructural integrity of the AF may be related to verbal ability in ASD.

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