Abnormal asymmetry in language association cortex in autism

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Online ISSN: 1531-8249    Print ISSN: 0364-5134
Annals of Neurology
Volume 52, Issue 5, 2002. Pages: 588-596

Articles Available Online in Advance of Print
Published Online: 16 Sep 2002
 

Copyright © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Abnormal asymmetry in language association cortex in autism
Martha R. Herbert, MD, PhD 1 *, Gordon J. Harris, PhD 2, Kristen T. Adrien, BA 1, David A. Ziegler, BS 1, Nikos Makris, MD, PhD 1, Dave N. Kennedy, PhD 1, Nicholas T. Lange, PhD 3, Chris F. Chabris, PhD 2, Anna Bakardjiev, MD 5, James Hodgson, PhD 6, Masanori Takeoka, MD 7, Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD 4, Verne S. Caviness Jr., MD 1
1Center for Morphometric Analysis, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
2Radiology Computer Aided Diagnostics Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
3McLean Hospital Brain Imaging Center, Belmont
4Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
5Children's Hospital, Oakland, CA
6Pennington School, Pennington, NJ
7Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
 
email: Martha R. Herbert (mherbert1@partners.org)

*Correspondence to Martha R. Herbert, Center for Morphometric Analysis, Massachusetts General Hospital, CNY-149, Room 6012, Boston, MA 02114

Funded by:
 Cure Autism Now Foundation; Grant Number: NS02126, NS20489
 Armenise Foundation Fund
 Fairway Trust; Grant Number: NS34189, DA09467, NS27950, P01-DC03610
 NICHD/NIDCD funded Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism; Grant Number: MH57180, NS37483

 

Abstract
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting cognitive, language, and social functioning. Although language and social communication abnormalities are characteristic, prior structural imaging studies have not examined language-related cortex in autistic and control subjects. Subjects included 16 boys with autism (aged 7-11 years), with nonverbal IQ greater than 80, and 15 age- and handedness-matched controls. Magnetic resonance brain images were segmented into gray and white matter; cerebral cortex was parcellated into 48 gyral-based divisions per hemisphere. Asymmetry was assessed a priori in language-related inferior lateral frontal and posterior superior temporal regions and assessed post hoc in all regions to determine specificity of asymmetry abnormalities. Boys with autism had significant asymmetry reversal in frontal language-related cortex: 27% larger on the right in autism and 17% larger on the left in controls. Only one additional region had significant asymmetry differences on post hoc analysis: posterior temporal fusiform gyrus (more left-sided in autism), whereas adjacent fusiform gyrus and temporooccipital inferior temporal gyrus both approached significance (more right-sided in autism). These inferior temporal regions are involved in visual face processing. In boys with autism, language and social/face processing-related regions displayed abnormal asymmetry. These structural abnormalities may relate to language and social disturbances observed in autism.

Received: 4 February 2002; Revised: 29 May 2002; Accepted: 29 June 2002

 

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10.1002/ana.10349  About DOI


 

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