The DOI matches its Crossref record; 43 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Amygdala Enlargement in Toddlers with Autism Related to Severity of Social and Communication Impairments
Open accessAbstract
Background Autism is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder of unknown etiology. The amygdala has long been a site of intense interest in the search for neuropathology in autism, given its role in emotional and social behavior. An interesting hypothesis has emerged that the amygdala undergoes an abnormal developmental trajectory with a period of early overgrowth in autism; however this finding has not been well established at young ages nor analyzed with boys and girls independently. Methods We measured amygdala volumes on magnetic resonance imaging scans from 89 toddlers at 1-5 years of age (mean = 3 years). Each child returned at approximately 5 years of age for final clinical evaluation. Results Toddlers who later received a confirmed autism diagnosis (32 boys, 9 girls) had a larger right (p < .01) and left (p < .05) amygdala compared with typically developing toddlers (28 boys, 11 girls) with and without covarying for total cerebral volume. Amygdala size in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder correlated with the severity of their social and communication impairments as measured on the Autism Diagnostic Interview and Vineland scale. Strikingly, girls differed more robustly from typical in amygdala volume, whereas boys accounted for the significant relationship of amygdala size with severity of clinical impairment. Conclusions This study provides evidence that the amygdala is enlarged in young children with autism; the overgrowth must begin before 3 years of age and is associated with the severity of clinical impairments. However, neuroanatomic phenotypic profiles differ between males and females, which critically affects future studies on the genetics and etiology of autism.
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“At the same time, ASD has been associated with enlargement of the amygdala [2-4].”
From Functional autonomic nervous system profile in children with autism spectrum disorder (2014) · cites this paper as [3]
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Sex/Gender Differences and Autism: Setting the Scene for Future Research
Lai, M.-C., Lombardo, M. V., Auyeung, B., Chakrabarti, B., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2014.10.003 · Cited by 1,120
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Why are autism spectrum conditions more prevalent in males?
Baron-Cohen, S., Lombardo, M. V., Auyeung, B., Ashwin, E., Chakrabarti, B., & Knickmeyer, R. (2011) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001081 · Cited by 754
Brain growth across the life span in autism: Age-specific changes in anatomical pathology
Courchesne, E., Campbell, K., & Solso, S. (2011) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2010.09.101 · Cited by 711
Self-citationAmygdala volume and social network size in humans
Bickart, K. C., Wright, C. I., Dautoff, R. J., Dickerson, B. C., & Barrett, L. F. (2011) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2724 · Cited by 556
Metadata
- Authors
- Schumann, C. M., Barnes, C. C., Lord, C., & Courchesne, E.
- Affiliations
- University of California San Diego (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Schumann, Cynthia Mills
- Venue
- Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-11
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 942-949
- ISSN
- 0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2795360
- OpenAlex
- W2022043519
- Cited by
- 340
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 31 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 10.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (P50MH081755)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS019855)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, amygdala enlargement, amygdala volume, toddlers, social dysfunction, communication disorders, autism severity, sex differences, brain overgrowth, neurodevelopmental disorders, autism etiology
- MeSH terms
- Amygdala, Analysis of Variance, Autistic Disorder, Child, Preschool, Communication Disorders, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Infant, Functional Laterality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Sex Factors, Social Behavior Disorders, Linear Models
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