An MRI study of the basal ganglia in autism

Sears, Lonnie; Vest, Cortney; Mohamed, Somaia; Bailey, James M.; Ranson, Bonnie J.; Piven, Joseph

doi:10.1016/s0278-5846(99)00020-2

Cited by 326 publications

(233 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Finally; increased brain volume was found in a large sample of high-functioning (nonmentally retarded) autistic individuals under 12 years of age; but not in those over 12 years of age [Aylward et al, 2002]. Others have reported evidence to suggest enlargement of the caudate nucleus [Sears et al, 1999], amygdalae [Schumann et al, 2004], and hippocampus [Schumann et al, 2004], with a decrease in cross-sectional area of the corpus callosum Manes et al, 1999;Hardan et al, 2000]. The findings from brain MRI studies are also consistent with systematic large scale surveys showing that approximately 20% of autistic individuals have macrocephaly (greater than the 98 th percentile for head circumference) that appears not to be present at birth [Lainhart et al, 1997;Stevenson, 1997].…”

Section: Brain Enlargement In Autismmentioning

confidence: 88%

Toward a developmental neurobiology of autism

Polleux

Lauder

2004

Ment. Retard. Dev. Disabil. Res. Rev.

186

132

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Autism is a complex, behaviorally defined, developmental brain disorder with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 1,000. It is now clear that autism is not a disease, but a syndrome with a strong genetic component. The etiology of autism is poorly defined both at the cellular and the molecular levels. Based on the fact that seizure activity is frequently associated with autism and that abnormal evoked potentials have been observed in autistic individuals in response to tasks that require attention, several investigators have recently proposed that autism might be caused by an imbalance between excitation and inhibition in key neural systems including the cortex. Despite considerable ongoing effort toward the identification of chromosome regions affected in autism and the characterization of many potential gene candidates, only a few genes have been reproducibly shown to display specific mutations that segregate with autism, likely because of the complex polygenic nature of this syndrome. Among those, several candidate genes have been shown to control the early patterning and/or the late synaptic maturation of specific neuronal subpopulations controlling the balance between excitation and inhibition in the developing cortex and cerebellum. In the present article, we review our current understanding of the developmental mechanisms patterning the balance between excitation and inhibition in the context of the neurobiology of autism.

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Section: Brain Enlargement In Autismmentioning

confidence: 88%

Toward a developmental neurobiology of autism

Polleux

Lauder

2004

Ment. Retard. Dev. Disabil. Res. Rev.

186

132

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“…In autism stereotyped, ritualistic and repetitive behaviors including compulsive rituals and difficulties in tolerating changes in routine or environment, are characteristic. It has been suggested [24,63,64] that these behaviors may share related pathophysiological mechanisms. Sears and colleagues [63] analyzed with high resolution MRI the volume of the bilateral caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus regions in a group with autism and a control group.…”

Section: Basal Ganglia In Obsessive Compulsive Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Motor and Cognitive Neurobehavioral Relationships in the Basal Ganglia

Leisman¹,

Melillo²,

Frederick³

2013

Basal Ganglia - An Integrative View

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“…For example, in Fragile X syndrome, caudate volume has been significantly correlated with stereotypies [61]. In MRI studies of autism, caudate volume was associated with repetitive behavior [69,24], and frontal white matter and caudate volumes were reduced in stereotypy subjects who had no other known developmental or neurological disorder [36].…”

Section: Repetitive Behavior and Cortical-basal Ganglia Circuitrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal models of restricted repetitive behavior in autism

Lewis

Tanimura

Lee

et al. 2007

Behavioural Brain Research

229

227

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Restricted, repetitive behavior, along with deficits in social reciprocity and communication, is diagnostic of autism. Animal models relevant to this domain generally fall into three classes: repetitive behavior associated with targeted insults to the CNS; repetitive behavior induced by pharmacological agents; and repetitive behavior associated with restricted environments and experience. The extant literature provides potential models of the repetitive behavioral phenotype in autism rather than attempts to model the etiology or pathophysiology of restricted, repetitive behavior, as these are poorly understood. This review focuses on our work with deer mice which exhibit repetitive behaviors associated with environmental restriction. Repetitive behaviors are the most common category of abnormal behavior observed in confined animals and larger, more complex environments substantially reduce the development and expression of such behavior. Studies with this model, including environmental enrichment effects, suggest alterations in cortical-basal ganglia circuitry in the development and expression of repetitive behavior. Considerably more work needs to be done in this area, particularly in modeling the development of aberrant repetitive behavior. As mutant mouse models continue to proliferate, there should be a number of promising genetic models to pursue.

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An MRI study of the basal ganglia in autism

Cited by 326 publications

References 30 publications

Toward a developmental neurobiology of autism

Toward a developmental neurobiology of autism

Clinical Motor and Cognitive Neurobehavioral Relationships in the Basal Ganglia

Animal models of restricted repetitive behavior in autism

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