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Gray matter heterogeneity in Asperger syndrome assessed by MR texture analysis and its impact on regional gray matter volume

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 11:15 authored by Eugenia Radulescu, Balaji Ganeshan, Ludovico Minati, Felix D C C Beacher, Marcus A Gray, Chris ChatwinChris Chatwin, Rupert YoungRupert Young, Neil Harrison, Hugo CritchleyHugo Critchley
Brain imaging studies contribute to the neurobiological understanding of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). Herein, we tested the prediction that distributed neurodevelopmental abnormalities in brain development impact on the homogeneity of brain tissue measured using texture analysis (TA; a morphological method for surface pattern characterization). TA was applied to structural magnetic resonance brain scans of 54 adult participants (24 with Asperger syndrome (AS) and 30 controls). Measures of mean gray-level intensity, entropy and uniformity were extracted from gray matter images at fine, medium and coarse textures. Comparisons between AS and controls identified higher entropy and lower uniformity across textures in the AS group. Data reduction of texture parameters revealed three orthogonal principal components. These were used as regressors-of-interest in a voxelbased morphometry analysis that explored the relationship between surface texture variations and regional gray matter volume. Across the AS but not control group, measures of entropy and uniformity were related to the volume of the caudate nuclei, whereas mean gray-level was related to the size of the cerebellar vermis. Similar to neuropathological studies, our study provides evidence for distributed abnormalities in the structural integrity of gray matter in adults with ASC, in particular within corticostriatal and corticocerebellar networks. Additionally, this in-vivo technique may be more sensitive to fine microstructural organization than other more traditional magnetic resonance approaches and serves as a future testable biomarker in AS and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Pharmacogenomics Journal

ISSN

1470-269X

Publisher

Nature

Issue

1

Volume

13

Page range

70-79

Department affiliated with

  • Engineering and Design Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-04-19

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