The effect of age on vertex-based measures of the grey-white matter tissue contrast in autism spectrum disorder

TY - JOUR

T1 - The effect of age on vertex-based measures of the grey-white matter tissue contrast in autism spectrum disorder

AU - Mann, Caroline

AU - Bletsch, Anke

AU - Andrews, Derek

AU - Daly, Eileen

AU - Murphy, Clodagh

AU - Murphy, Declan

AU - Ecker, Christine

PY - 2018/10

Y1 - 2018/10

N2 - Background: Histological evidence suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by a reduced integrity of the grey-white matter boundary. This has also recently been confirmed by a structural neuroimaging study in vivo reporting significantly reduced grey-white matter tissue contrast (GWC) in adult individuals (18-42 years of age) with ASD relative to typically developing (TD) controls. However, it remains unknown whether the neuroanatomical differences in ASD at the grey-white matter boundary are stable across development or are age-dependent. Methods: Here, we examined differences in the neurodevelopmental trajectories of GWC in a cross-sectional sample of 77 male ASD individuals and 76 typically developing (TD) controls across childhood and early adulthood (from 7 to 25 years). Results: Using nested model comparisons, we first established that the developmental trajectory of GWC is complex in many regions across the cortex and includes linear and non-linear effects of age. Second, while ASD individuals have significantly reduced GWC overall, these differences are age-dependent and are most prominent during childhood (< 15 years). Conclusions: Taken together, our findings suggest that differences in GWC in ASD are unlikely to reflect atypical grey matter cytoarchitecture alone, but may also represent other aspects of the cortical architecture such as age-dependent variability in myelin integrity.

AB - Background: Histological evidence suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by a reduced integrity of the grey-white matter boundary. This has also recently been confirmed by a structural neuroimaging study in vivo reporting significantly reduced grey-white matter tissue contrast (GWC) in adult individuals (18-42 years of age) with ASD relative to typically developing (TD) controls. However, it remains unknown whether the neuroanatomical differences in ASD at the grey-white matter boundary are stable across development or are age-dependent. Methods: Here, we examined differences in the neurodevelopmental trajectories of GWC in a cross-sectional sample of 77 male ASD individuals and 76 typically developing (TD) controls across childhood and early adulthood (from 7 to 25 years). Results: Using nested model comparisons, we first established that the developmental trajectory of GWC is complex in many regions across the cortex and includes linear and non-linear effects of age. Second, while ASD individuals have significantly reduced GWC overall, these differences are age-dependent and are most prominent during childhood (< 15 years). Conclusions: Taken together, our findings suggest that differences in GWC in ASD are unlikely to reflect atypical grey matter cytoarchitecture alone, but may also represent other aspects of the cortical architecture such as age-dependent variability in myelin integrity.

KW - Autism spectrum disorder

KW - Brain anatomy

KW - Neurodevelopment

KW - Neuroimaging

KW - Structural MRI

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85054331626&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1186/s13229-018-0232-6

DO - 10.1186/s13229-018-0232-6

M3 - Article

C2 - 30302187

AN - SCOPUS:85054331626

SN - 2040-2392

VL - 9

JO - Molecular Autism

JF - Molecular Autism

IS - 1

M1 - 49

ER -