Abnormal regional cerebral blood flow in childhood autism
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies of autism have shown abnormalities in the limbic system and cerebellar circuits and additional sites. These findings are not, however, specific or consistent enough to build up a coherent theory of the origin and nature of the brain abnormality in autistic patients. Twenty-three children with infantile autism and 26 non-autistic controls matched for IQ and age were examined using brain-perfusion single photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer. In autistic subjects, we assessed the relationship between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and symptom profiles. Images were anatomically normalized, and voxel-by-voxel analyses were performed. Decreases in rCBF in autistic patients compared with the control group were identified in the bilateral insula, superior temporal gyri and left prefrontal cortices. Analysis of the correlations between syndrome scores and rCBF revealed that each syndrome was associated with a specific pattern of perfusion in the limbic system and the medial prefrontal cortex. The results confirmed the associations of (i) impairments in communication and social interaction that are thought to be related to deficits in the theory of mind (ToM) with altered perfusion in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus, and (ii) the obsessive desire for sameness with altered perfusion in the right medial temporal lobe. The perfusion abnormalities seem to be related to the cognitive dysfunction observed in autism, such as deficits in ToM, abnormal responses to sensory stimuli, and the obsessive desire for sameness. The perfusion patterns suggest possible locations of abnormalities of brain function underlying abnormal behaviour patterns in autistic individuals.
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Several neuroimaging studies have found support for a hypofunctional ACC in autism.
“Concerning ASD, several neuroimaging studies have found support for a hypofunctional ACC in autism (Gomot et al., 2006; Haznedar et al., 2000; Ohnishi et al., 2000)”
From Error and feedback processing in children with ADHD and children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: An EEG event-related potential study (2008) · cites this paper as Ohnishi et al., 2000
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- Authors
- Ohnishi, T.
- Affiliations
- National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Ohnishi, T.
- ORCID
- Ohnishi, T.
- Venue
- Brain
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2000-09-01
- Volume
- 123
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1838-1844
- ISSN
- 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2156
- OpenAlex
- W2015769425
- Cited by
- 439
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 10.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Brain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, infantile autism, regional cerebral blood flow, cerebral perfusion, single photon emission computed tomography, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, medial temporal lobe, insula, superior temporal gyrus, theory of mind, social interaction deficits, communication difficulties, sensory processing, limbic system, cerebellar circuits
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Autistic Disorder, Brain, Cerebrovascular Circulation, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Factors, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
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