Psychiatry Investig.  2018 Oct;15(10):956-961. 10.30773/pi.2018.07.27.

Relationship between Autistic Spectrum Trait and Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Healthy Male Subjects

• Ota M
• Matsuo J
• Sato N
• Teraishi T
• Hori H
• Hattori K
• Kamio Y
• Maikusa N
• Matsuda H
• Kunugi H

• KMID: 2425506
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2018.07.27

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Autistic spectrum traits are postulated to lie on a continuum that extends between individuals with autism and individuals with typical development. The present study was carried out to investigate functional and network abnormalities associated with autistic spectrum trait in healthy male subjects.
METHODS
Subjects were 41 healthy male subjects who underwent the social responsiveness scale-adult (SRS-A) and magnetic resonance imaging.
RESULTS
There was significant positive correlation between the total score of SRS-A and the regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Also, there were changes in functional network such as in cingulate corti, insula and fusiform cortex. Further, we also found the significant difference of functional networks between the healthy male subjects with high or low autistic spectrum trait, and these points were congruent with the previous perceptions derived from autistic-spectrum disorders.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest a biological basis for the autistic spectrum trait and may be useful for the imaging marker of autism symptomatology.

Keyword

Autism spectrum disorder; Default mode network; Functional network; Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling; Social responsiveness scale for adults

MeSH Terms

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autistic Disorder
Cerebrovascular Circulation*
Gyrus Cinguli
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male*
SRS-A
SRS-A