White matter microstructure of language pathways in non-verbal autism: insights from diffusion tensor imaging and myelin water imaging.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Absence of language development is a condition encountered across a large range of neurodevelopmental disorders, including a significant proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder. The neurobiological underpinnings of non-verbal ASD (nvASD) remain poorly understood.

Methods

This study employed multimodal MRI to investigate white matter (WM) microstructural abnormalities in nvASD, focusing on language-related pathways. We analyzed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics-fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD)-alongside myelin water imaging (MWI) metrics, including myelin water fraction (MWF) and intra/extracellular water T2 relaxation time (T2IE). A cohort of 10 children with nvASD and 10 age-matched typically devel

SUBMITTER: Slusna D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12411538 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature