Reduced cortical folding in mental retardation.
OBJECTIVE
MR is a developmental disorder associated with impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in adaptive behavior. With a 2D region of interest-based GI, a preliminary study reported significantly reduced gyrification in the prefrontal lobe in MR. The purpose of this study was to further investigate the abnormalities of cortical gyrification in MR and to explore the possible causes of these abnormalities.


METHODS
Thirteen patients with MR and 26 demographically matched healthy controls were included in this study. A 3D surface-based lGI was calculated as a measure to quantify gyrification. Then vertex-by-vertex contrasts of lGI were performed between patients with MR and healthy controls.


RESULTS
Statistical analysis showed that patients with MR had significantly reduced lGI in multiple brain regions compared with healthy controls. These regions include the lateral and medial prefrontal cortices, the right superior temporal gyrus, the left superior parietal lobe, the bilateral insular and adjacent cortices, and the visual and motor cortices.


CONCLUSIONS
The observed abnormal pattern of cortical gyrification revealed by significant reduction of lGI in multiple brain regions might reflect the developmental disturbance in intracortical organization and cortical connectivities in MR.
Zhang
Y
Y
Department of Mathematics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P. R. China.
Zhou
Y
Y
Yu
C
C
Lin
L
L
Li
C
C
Jiang
T
T
D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult