Archives

  • 2018-07
  • 2018-10
  • 2018-11
  • 2019-04
  • 2019-05
  • 2019-06
  • 2019-07
  • 2019-08
  • 2019-09
  • 2019-10
  • 2019-11
  • 2019-12
  • 2020-01
  • 2020-02
  • 2020-03
  • 2020-04
  • 2020-05
  • 2020-06
  • 2020-07
  • 2020-08
  • 2020-09
  • 2020-10
  • 2020-11
  • 2020-12
  • 2021-01
  • 2021-02
  • 2021-03
  • 2021-04
  • 2021-05
  • 2021-06
  • 2021-07
  • 2021-08
  • 2021-09
  • 2021-10
  • 2021-11
  • 2021-12
  • 2022-01
  • 2022-02
  • 2022-03
  • 2022-04
  • 2022-05
  • 2022-06
  • 2022-07
  • 2022-08
  • 2022-09
  • 2022-10
  • 2022-11
  • 2022-12
  • 2023-01
  • 2023-02
  • 2023-03
  • 2023-04
  • 2023-05
  • 2023-06
  • 2023-07
  • 2023-08
  • 2023-09
  • 2023-10
  • 2023-11
  • 2023-12
  • 2024-01
  • 2024-02
  • 2024-03
  • 2024-04
  • 2024-05

    • However previous cross sectional structural MRI studies

    2018-11-01

    However, previous cross-sectional structural MRI studies exploring the neurobiology of RRBs are limited in ASD. Sears et al. (1999) found a significant negative association between caudate nucleus volume and three Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI) repetitive behavior items: difficulties with minor changes in routine, compulsions/rituals, and complex mannerisms. Hollander et al. (2005) reported increased right caudate nucleus volume in ASD, which were positively correlated with higher order RRBs of ADI. The same pattern was observed when putamen volumes were correlated with repetitive behavior scores. Using adult and adolescent samples, Rojas et al. (2006) largely replicated these results in a later study. In two studies using a wider age range (7–25 years), Langen et al. (2007, 2009) also reported larger caudate nucleus volume in highly functional ASD individuals compared with typically developing controls. These investigators reported either no significant correlations with Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) repetitive behavior scores (Langen et al., 2007) or a negative correlation with insistence on sameness cluster (Langen et al., 2009). Estes et al. (2011), however, examined basal ganglial morphometry in 3–4-year-old children with ASD compared with DD and TD controls. After controlling for cerebral volume no differences in caudate nucleus volume was found between ASD and TD children but the difference between ASD and DD participants persisted. Further, no systematic relationship between caudate nucleus volume and RRBs was observed for any of the three measures of RRBs. This observation was at odds with the recent results of Wolff et al. (2013) who reported that pgp inhibitors the compulsive and ritual subscales of Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised were significantly positively associated with caudate nucleus volume in 3–6-year-old ASD children. To date, in the longitudinal study of caudate nucleus development in autism, Langen et al. (2014) reported that an increase in the growth rate of striatal structures, especially caudate nucleus in individuals with autism mean age was 9.9, compared with typically developing controls. Faster striatal growth was correlated with more severe RRBs (insistence on sameness). Abnormally high caudate volumes in early childhood, typically between 10 and 15 years of age, and then abnormal decline in adulthood were found in 100 male participants with ASD compared with 56 typically developing controls scanned over an 8-year period (Lange et al., 2015). In general, most cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have focused on adults or school-age children with ASD and the early trajectory of caudate nucleus from infancy through middle childhood remains unclear. It is necessary to determine whether young children with ASD have greater volumes and atypical growth patterns of caudate nucleus than other children, and whether volumes of caudate nucleus correlate with RRBs. Therefore, in the present longitudinal study, we evaluated caudate nucleus development during a 2-year interval in 2–3-year-old children with ASD and DD subjects. The following hypotheses were tested:
    Methods
    Results No significant differences were seen between the two groups in terms of gender, age, DQ and IQ. Compared with the DD group, the ASD group demonstrated significantly higher RRBs scores on the ADI-R: Ritualistic-Repetitive Behavior including total scores, higher order (C1, C2) scores and lower order (C3, C4) scores (see Table 1).
    Discussion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining the developmental course of caudate nucleus volume in 2–3-year-old children with ASD. Our results indicate that the ADI-R: Ritualistic-Repetitive Behavior scores can be used to distinguish children with ASD from those with DD even at this young age. Two previous studies, both using the ADI-R, have shown significantly elevated RRBs scores in ASD children as young as 2 years (Richler et al., 2010) or 3–4 years (Estes et al., 2011) compared with DD children. We observed larger caudate nucleus volume in our ASD participants compared with age-matched DD participants at both time points. This finding is consistent with cross-sectional results reported by recent studies (Langen et al., 2007; Estes et al., 2011). The magnitude of caudate nucleus enlargement was larger at Time 2 suggesting that the pathological enlargement of caudate nucleus in ASD begins before age 3 and continues to increase for the next 2 years relative to the DD group.