Relationship between cortical gyrification, white matter connectivity, and autism spectrum disorder
Cereb. Cortex. 2016-04-29; 26(7): 3297-3309
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw098
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1. Cereb Cortex. 2016 Jul;26(7):3297-309. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhw098. Epub 2016 Apr
29.
Relationship Between Cortical Gyrification, White Matter Connectivity, and Autism
Spectrum Disorder.
Ecker C(1), Andrews D(2), Dell’Acqua F(2), Daly E(2), Murphy C(2), Catani M(2),
Thiebaut de Schotten M(2), Baron-Cohen S(3), Lai MC(4), Lombardo MV(5), Bullmore
ET(6), Suckling J(6), Williams S(7), Jones DK(8), Chiocchetti A(9); MRC AIMS
Consortium, Murphy DG(2).
Collaborators: Bailey AJ, Baron-Cohen S, Bolton PF, Bullmore ET, Carrington S,
Catani M, Chakrabarti B, Craig MC, Daly EM, Deoni SC, Ecker C, Happé F, Henty J,
Jezzard P, Johnston P, Jones DK, Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Madden A, Mullins D, Murphy
CM, Murphy DG, Pasco G, Ruigrok AN, Sadek SA, Spain D, Stewart R, Suckling J,
Wheelwright SJ, Williams SC, Wilson CE.
Author information:
(1)Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, and the Sackler
Institute for Translational Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry,
Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College, London SE5 8AF, UK Department of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Goethe
University, 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
(2)Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, and the Sackler
Institute for Translational Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry,
Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College, London SE5 8AF, UK.
(3)Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK.
(4)Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative at the Centre
or Addiction and Mental Health and The Hospital for Sick Children, Department of
Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M6J 1H4, Canada Department
of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine,
Taipei, Taiwan 100, R.O.C.
(5)Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK Department of Psychology and Center for Applied
Neuroscience, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus.
(6)Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK.
(7)Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and
Neuroscience, King’s College, London SE5 8AF, UK.
(8)Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology,
Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 5HQ, UK.
(9)Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and
Psychotherapy, Goethe University, 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition, which
is accompanied by differences in gray matter neuroanatomy and white matter
connectivity. However, it is unknown whether these differences are linked or
reflect independent aetiologies. Using a multimodal neuroimaging approach, we
therefore examined 51 male adults with ASD and 48 neurotypical controls to
investigate the relationship between gray matter local gyrification (lGI) and
white matter diffusivity in associated fiber tracts. First, ASD individuals had a
significant increase in gyrification around the left pre- and post-central gyrus.
Second, white matter fiber tracts originating and/or terminating in the cluster
of increased lGI had a significant increase in axial diffusivity. This increase
in diffusivity was predominantly observed in tracts in close proximity to the
cortical sheet. Last, we demonstrate that the increase in lGI was significantly
correlated with increased diffusivity of short tracts. This relationship was not
significantly modulated by a main effect of group (i.e., ASD), which was more
closely associated with gray matter gyrification than white matter diffusivity.
Our findings suggest that differences in gray matter neuroanatomy and white
matter connectivity are closely linked, and may reflect common rather than
distinct aetiological pathways.
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw098
PMCID: PMC4898679
PMID: 27130663 [Indexed for MEDLINE]