title: A diffusion tensor imaging study of the cerebellar pathways in children with autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Children with autistic spectrum disorder are known to have histopathological abnormalities in the cerebellum. Diffusion tensor imaging has been utilized to study abnormalities in connectivity and microintegrity in brains of such children. A region of interest approach was adopted to study cerebellar outflow and inflow pathways in 27 children (24 males; mean age, 5.0 years) with autism, and comparison was made with 16 normally developing controls. An increase in the mean diffusivity of bilateral superior cerebellar peduncles in those with autistic spectrum disorder was noted, as was a reversal of the asymmetry pattern in fractional anisotropy of the middle cerebellar peduncle and the inferior cerebellar peduncle in the autistic spectrum disorder group, compared with controls. This study reiterates the underconnectivity between the cerebellum and neocortex, using diffusion tensor imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Neurology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA. lsivaswamy@med.wayne.edu
authors.forename: Lalitha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sivaswamy
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behen
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Muzik
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chugani
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chugani
mesh_terms: D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology