title: Increased Laterality of the Thalamus in Children and Adolescents with Asperger's Disorder: An MRI and Proton Spectroscopy Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Thalamic abnormalities have been reported in people with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) including Asperger's Disorder (ASP). The aim of the present study was to compare the volume and volume fraction of the thalamus and the metabolite concentrations in children and adolescents with ASP using the magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Additionally, the relationships between thalamic abnormalities and clinical features were examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volume and volume fractional and metabolic measurements of bilateral thalamus were collected from 15 boys with ASP with a total IQ over 70 (age range 7-18 years, mean age 11.6±3.79 years), and 15 healthy controls matching age, sex and IQ. The thalamic volumes, hemisphere volumes and total brain volumes (TBV) were estimated using the stereological methods on magnetic resonance images. Chemical metabolites of thalamus were evaluated by (1)H spectroscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences in thalamic volumes, volume fractions and metabolites were observed between the groups. There were significant correlation between thalamic volume and total brain volume in both groups. The ASP group showed a significant left-minus-right thalamus difference as well as a significantly greater laterality index. In addition, a significant correlation between the laterality index and Autism Behavior Checklist language scores was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from this investigation point to a significant increase in laterality of the thalamus and a relationship with language problems in individuals with ASP. Our findings suggest that thalamic abnormalities may be related to mild language problems observed in ASP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gökçe Nur
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Say
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bünyamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kerim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Seher
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akbaş
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Lütfi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lncesu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Meltem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ceyhan
keywords: Asperger; Autism; Children; Language; Laterality; Thalamus
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