Autism-associated brain differences can be observed in utero using MRI.
Alpen OrtugYurui GuoHenry A FeldmanYangming OuJose Luis Alatorre WarrenHarrison DieuveuilNicole T BaumerSusan K FajaEmi TakahashiPublished in: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) (2024)
Developmental changes that occur before birth are thought to be associated with the development of autism spectrum disorders. Identifying anatomical predictors of early brain development may contribute to our understanding of the neurobiology of autism spectrum disorders and allow for earlier and more effective identification and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. In this study, we used retrospective clinical brain magnetic resonance imaging data from fetuses who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders later in life (prospective autism spectrum disorders) in order to identify the earliest magnetic resonance imaging-based regional volumetric biomarkers. Our results showed that magnetic resonance imaging-based autism spectrum disorder biomarkers can be found as early as in the fetal period and suggested that the increased volume of the insular cortex may be the most promising magnetic resonance imaging-based fetal biomarker for the future emergence of autism spectrum disorders, along with some additional, potentially useful changes in regional volumes and hemispheric asymmetries.
Keyphrases
- autism spectrum disorder
- magnetic resonance imaging
- intellectual disability
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- contrast enhanced
- resting state
- computed tomography
- functional connectivity
- white matter
- diffusion weighted imaging
- cross sectional
- big data
- electronic health record
- magnetic resonance
- working memory
- brain injury
- blood brain barrier
- multiple sclerosis
- machine learning