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Familial risk of autism alters subcortical and cerebellar brain anatomy in infants and predicts the emergence of repetitive behaviors in early childhood
Author(s) -
Pote Inês,
Wang Siying,
Sethna Vaheshta,
Blasi Anna,
Daly Eileen,
KuklisovaMurgasova Maria,
LloydFox Sarah,
Mercure Evelyne,
Busuulwa Paula,
Stoencheva Vladimira,
Charman Tony,
Williams Steven C. R.,
Johnson Mark H.,
Murphy Declan G. M.,
McAlonan Grainne M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
autism research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.656
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1939-3806
pISSN - 1939-3792
DOI - 10.1002/aur.2083
Subject(s) - autism , autism spectrum disorder , psychology , sibling , brain size , brain structure and function , cerebellum , family history , neurodevelopmental disorder , pediatrics , developmental psychology , cognition , neuroscience , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition, and infant siblings of children with ASD are at a higher risk of developing autistic traits or an ASD diagnosis, when compared to those with typically developing siblings. Reports of differences in brain anatomy and function in high‐risk infants which predict later autistic behaviors are emerging, but although cerebellar and subcortical brain regions have been frequently implicated in ASD, no high‐risk study has examined these regions. Therefore, in this study, we compared regional MRI volumes across the whole brain in 4–6‐month‐old infants with (high‐risk, n = 24) and without (low‐risk, n = 26) a sibling with ASD. Within the high‐risk group, we also examined whether any regional differences observed were associated with autistic behaviors at 36 months. We found that high‐risk infants had significantly larger cerebellar and subcortical volumes at 4–6‐months of age, relative to low‐risk infants; and that larger volumes in high‐risk infants were linked to more repetitive behaviors at 36 months. Our preliminary observations require replication in longitudinal studies of larger samples. If correct, they suggest that the early subcortex and cerebellum volumes may be predictive biomarkers for childhood repetitive behaviors. Autism Res 2019, 12: 614–627 . © 2019 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research published byWiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary Individuals with a family history of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk of ASD and related developmental difficulties. This study revealed that 4–6‐month‐old infants at high‐risk of ASD have larger cerebellum and subcortical volumes than low‐risk infants, and that larger volumes in high‐risk infants are associated with more repetitive behaviors in childhood.