Hyperperfusion of Frontal White and Subcortical Gray Matter in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Background: Our aim was to assess resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Methods: We acquired pulsed arterial spin labeling MRI data in 44 generally high functioning ASD simplex participants and 66 typically developing (TD) controls with comparable mean fullscale IQ's. We compared rCBF values voxel-wise across diagnostic groups and assessed correlations with symptom scores. We also assessed the moderating influences of participant age, sex, and IQ on our findings and the correlations of rCBF with NAA (N-acetylaspartate) metabolite levels. Results: We detected significantly higher rCBF values throughout frontal white matter and subcortical gray in ASD participants. rCBF correlated positively with socialization deficits in regions where ASD hyperperfusion was greatest. rCBF declined with increasing IQ in the TD group, a correlation that was absent in ASD participants because their rCBF values were elevated across all IQ levels. rCBF in the ASD group correlated inversely with NAA metabolite levels throughout frontal white matter, with greater rCBF accompanying lower and increasingly abnormal NAA levels relative to TD controls. Conclusions: These findings taken together suggest the presence of altered metabolism, likely of mitochondrial origin, and dysfunctional maintenance processes that support axonal functioning in ASD. These disturbances in turn likely reduce neural efficiency for cognitive and social

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography of Macula and Optic Nerve in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

“…In general terms, hypoperfusion have been found in temporal [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], parietal [ 5 , 10 , 11 ] frontal [ 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ] cortices and basal ganglia [ 8 , 11 , 13 ]. In contrast, hyperperfusion in the frontal and temporal cortices has also been described in ASD subjects in other investigations [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Effect of post-labeling delay on regional cerebral blood flow in arterial spin-labeling MR imaging

“…[ 21 ] Moreover, the perfusion in some white matter was associated with many diseases. [ 12 , 13 , 29 , 30 ] Therefore, accurate measurements of perfusion in brain regions which composed of GM and white matter are particularly important.…”

Investigating resting brain perfusion abnormalities and disease target-engagement by intranasal oxytocin in women with bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder and healthy controls

“…Recently, arterial spin labelling (ASL) MRI has allowed the non-invasive quantification of rCBF with high reproducibility and spatial resolution 20 . ASL is a quantitative technique and has been used widely to quantify changes in brain physiology associated with various neuropsychiatric disorders 21 (e.g., autism spectrum disorder 22 , schizophrenia 23 , depression 24 ) and in response to pharmacological treatments 25,26 . Hence, ASL provides a non-invasive and widely available tool to investigate abnormalities in resting brain physiology of BN/BED and the effects of potential treatments.…”