Reduced White Matter Integrity and Deficits in Neuropsychological Functioning in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is currently viewed as a disorder of cortical systems connectivity, with a heavy emphasis being on the structural integrity of white matter tracts. However, the majority of the literature to date has focused on children with ASD. Understanding the integrity of white matter tracts in adults may help reveal the nature of ASD pathology in adulthood and the potential contributors to cognitive impairment. This study examined white matter water diffusion using diffusion tensor imaging in relation to neuropsychological measures of cognition in a sample of 45 adults with ASD compared to 20 age, gender, and full‐scale‐IQ‐matched healthy volunteers. Tract‐based spatial statistics were used to assess differences in diffusion along white matter tracts between groups using permutation testing. The following neuropsychological measures of cognition were assessed: processing speed, attention vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning and problem solving, and social cognition. Results indicated that fractional anisotropy (FA) was significantly reduced in adults with ASD in the anterior thalamic radiation (P = 0.022) and the right cingulum (P = 0.008). All neuropsychological measures were worse in the ASD group, but none of the measures significantly correlated with reduced FA in either tract in the adults with ASD or in the healthy volunteers. Together, this indicates that the tracts that are the most impacted in autism may not be (at least directly) responsible for the behavioral deficits in ASD. Autism Res 2020, 13: 702–714. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 19, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1002/aur.2271
Entities
People
- Nancy J. Minshew
- Sarah M. Haigh
- Shaun M Eack
- Timothy A. Keller
Organizations
- Autism Speaks
- Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- National Institute of Mental Health
- National Science Foundation
- Pennsylvania Department of Health
- United States Department of Defense
- University of Nevada, Reno
- University of Pittsburgh