基于体素的孤独症谱系障碍儿童脑灰质体积研究

比较孤独症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童和正常对照儿童的大脑灰质体积,探索ASD大脑结构异常的神经影像学证据.方法 采集21例ASD儿童及9名正常儿童的全脑T1结构MRI图像,采用基于体素的形态学测量(VBM)方法计算两组被试大脑各区域的灰质体积,并采用双样本t检验结合Alphasim多重检验矫正寻找差异脑区,采用多元回归分析与相关分析探究ASD组异常脑区的灰质体积与临床表型和年龄的关系.结果 与对照组相比,ASD组中灰质体积增大的区域位于楔前叶、距状皮层、舌回和左侧扣带回后部以及左侧缘上回、左侧颞上回、左侧顶下小叶、左侧中央后回、左侧罗兰迪克岛盖和左侧颞中回(校正后P值均<0.05).异常的左侧缘上回和左侧顶下小叶灰质体积与孤独症诊断访谈量表社会互动障碍(r=-0.64,P=0.002)和孤独症诊断观察量表相互性社会互动(r=-0.58,P=0.006)得分均呈负相关.ASD组中存在差异的脑区灰质体积随着年龄增大呈减小的趋势(r=-0.52,P=0.017),而对照组中未见该趋势(r=-0.15,P=0.69).结论 ASD儿童灰质体积改变见于多个脑区,ASD儿童大脑结构存在明显异常.

A typical gray matter volume in children with autism spectrum disorder: a voxel-based morphometric study

Objective To compare the gray matter volume (GMV) of ASD children with healthy control and to explore the neuroimaging evidence associated with ASD brain structure.Methods Whole-brain T1 MRI scans were collected both from 21 ASD children and 9 normal children,VBM analysis was performed to calculate the GMV of each brain regions.A two-sample t test combining Alphasim multiple test correction was utilized to explore the regions with atypical GMV,then a multi-regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between the GMV of atypical regions and symptoms of ASD,and the development course of two groups.Results Compared with HC group,ASD exhibited increased GMV in precuneus,calcarine,lingual gyrus,left posterior cingulated,left supramarginal gyrus,left superior temporal gyrus,left inferior parietal lobule,left postcentral gyrus,left rolandic operculum and left middle temporal gyrus(P<0.05 after correction).Moreover the GMV of left superior temporal gyrus and left inferior parietal lobule(r =-0.64,P =0.002) were negative correlated with ADI-R SOCIAL and ADOS SOCIAL scores in ASD(r =-0.52,P=0.017).Investigation of age-related effects demonstrated that the GMV of atypical regions decreased with age in individuals with ASD(r=-0.52,P=0.002),but not in the HC group(r=-0.15,P=0.69).Conclusion The changes of GMV in ASD children located in several brain regions,and the brain structure of children with ASD was significantly abnormal.