Cerebellar Structure in Autism

Evidence for Brainstem Contributions to Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…As for the data obtained from in vivo radiology studies, they lack consensus on the morphometric characteristics of the brainstem in autism. Early neuroimaging found a smaller midsagittal area of the brainstem in autism ( Gaffney et al, 1988 ; Hashimoto et al, 1993a , b , 1995 ), which was in line with the data that showed increased fourth ventricle in ASD ( Bauman et al, 1985 ; Gaffney et al, 1987 ). Nonetheless, others demonstrated no difference in the planimetric measure of the posterior fossa between subjects with and without ASD ( Rumsey et al, 1988 ; Garber and Ritvo, 1992 ; Holttum et al, 1992 ; Kleiman et al, 1992 ).…”

Corpus Callosum Morphology in Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder: Morphometric Analysis of MRI

“…In a previous study, no morphometric differences were found in the corpus callosum between patients with autism and control patients (Gaffney, Kuperman, Tsai, & Hassanein, 1987). This finding seems to be conceptually consistent, as recent evidence suggests that subjects with autism may have significant variation in the forebrain (Gaffney, Kuperman, Tsai, & Minchin, 1989), brain stem (Gaffney, Kuperman, Tsai, & Minchin, 1988) and cerebellar structures (Gaffney, Tsai, Kuperman, & Minchin, 1987).…”

Impairment in shifting attention in autistic and cerebellar patients.

“…Figure 1B and Figure 2 show that these 8 are a representative sample of the larger population of autistic patients studied by several different laboratories. In the present study, these vermis measures serve as a convenient and reliable index of cerebellar abnormality in these autistic patients, but it should be reiterated here that autopsy and MR studies show that the cerebellar hemispheres as well as the vermis are abnormal in autism (Gaffney, Tsai, et al, 1987; Murakami et al, 1989).…”