Uncovering the Social Deficits in the Autistic Brain. A Source-Based Morphometric Study.

ABSTRACT: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that mainly affects social interaction and communication. Evidence from behavioral and functional MRI studies supports the hypothesis that dysfunctional mechanisms involving social brain structures play a major role in autistic symptomatology. However, the investigation of anatomical abnormalities in the brain of people with autism has led to inconsistent results. We investigated whether specific brain regions, known to display functional abnormalities in autism, may exhibit mutual and peculiar patterns of covariance in their gray-matter concentrations. We analyzed structural MRI images of 32 young men affected by autistic disorder (AD) and 50 healthy controls. Controls were matched for sex, age, handedness. IQ scores were also monitored to avoid con

SUBMITTER: Grecucci A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5005369 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature