PURPOSE: Childhood autism is a severe developmental disorder that impairs the acquisition of some of the most important skills in human life. Progress in understanding the neural basis of childhood autism requires clear and reliable data indicating specific neuroanatomical or neurophysiological abnormalities. The purpose of the present study was to research localized brain dysfunction in autistic children using functional brain imaging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) in 21 primary autistic children and 10 age-matched non autistic children. RESULTS: A statistical parametric analysis of rCBF images revealed significant bilateral temporal hypoperfusion in the associative auditory cortex (superior temporal gyrus) and in the multimodal cortex (superior temporal sulcus) in the autistic group (p<0.001). In addition, temporal hypoperfusion was detected individually in 77% of autistic children. CONCLUSION: These findings provide robust evidence of well localized functional abnormalities in autistic children located in the superior temporal lobe. Such localized abnormalities were not detected with the low resolution PET camera,. This study suggests that high resolution PET camera combined with statistical parametric mapping is useful to understand developmental disorders.
PURPOSE: Childhood autism is a severe developmental disorder that impairs the acquisition of some of the most important skills in human life. Progress in understanding the neural basis of childhood autism requires clear and reliable data indicating specific neuroanatomical or neurophysiological abnormalities. The purpose of the present study was to research localized brain dysfunction in autisticchildren using functional brain imaging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) in 21 primary autisticchildren and 10 age-matched non autisticchildren. RESULTS: A statistical parametric analysis of rCBF images revealed significant bilateral temporal hypoperfusion in the associative auditory cortex (superior temporal gyrus) and in the multimodal cortex (superior temporal sulcus) in the autistic group (p<0.001). In addition, temporal hypoperfusion was detected individually in 77% of autisticchildren. CONCLUSION: These findings provide robust evidence of well localized functional abnormalities in autisticchildren located in the superior temporal lobe. Such localized abnormalities were not detected with the low resolution PET camera,. This study suggests that high resolution PET camera combined with statistical parametric mapping is useful to understand developmental disorders.
Authors: Bradley S Peterson; Ariana Zargarian; Jarod B Peterson; Suzanne Goh; Siddhant Sawardekar; Steven C R Williams; David J Lythgoe; Fernando O Zelaya; Ravi Bansal Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2018-12-21 Impact factor: 13.382
Authors: Daniel A Rossignol; Lanier W Rossignol; Scott Smith; Cindy Schneider; Sally Logerquist; Anju Usman; Jim Neubrander; Eric M Madren; Gregg Hintz; Barry Grushkin; Elizabeth A Mumper Journal: BMC Pediatr Date: 2009-03-13 Impact factor: 2.125