Cerebral [ 18 F]-FDOPA Uptake in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Its Association with Autistic Traits.
Rik SchalbroeckLioe-Fee De Geus-OeiJean-Paul SeltenMaqsood YaqubAnouk SchranteeTherese van AmelsvoortJan BooijFloris H P van VeldenPublished in: Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) (2021)
Dopaminergic signaling is believed to be related to autistic traits. We conducted an exploratory 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[ 18 F]-fluoro-L-phenylalanine positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([ 18 F]-FDOPA PET/CT) study, to examine cerebral [ 18 F]-FDOPA influx constant ( k i cer min -1 ), reflecting predominantly striatal dopamine synthesis capacity and a mixed monoaminergic innervation in extrastriatal neurons, in 44 adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 22 controls, aged 18 to 30 years. Autistic traits were assessed with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Region-of-interest and voxel-based analyses showed no statistically significant differences in k i cer between autistic adults and controls. In autistic adults, striatal k i cer was significantly, negatively associated with AQ attention to detail subscale scores, although Bayesian analyses did not support this finding. In conclusion, among autistic adults, specific autistic traits can be associated with reduced striatal dopamine synthesis capacity. However, replication of this finding is necessary.
Keyphrases
- positron emission tomography
- computed tomography
- pet ct
- autism spectrum disorder
- genome wide
- parkinson disease
- intellectual disability
- functional connectivity
- magnetic resonance imaging
- spinal cord
- pet imaging
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- uric acid
- spinal cord injury
- gene expression
- working memory
- image quality
- dna methylation
- magnetic resonance
- metabolic syndrome
- african american
- cerebral ischemia