title: Fiber tract associated with autistic traits in healthy adults.
abstract: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with impairment of social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors. Reduced fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter integrity, in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is related to ASD. However, there are several major fibers in pSTS, and it is unknown which of them is associated with ASD. We investigated FA in correlation with autistic traits assessed by autism spectrum quotient (AQ) in 91 healthy adults using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Then, of the fibers in pSTS, we identified the one in which FA was linked to the AQ score using tractography. TBSS revealed that AQ was correlated with FA of white matter in several regions such as the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe including pSTS. With further analysis using tractography, we confirmed that FA alteration in pSTS was located on the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF). IFOF has a critical role in processing socio-emotional information. Our findings suggest that of the fibers in pSTS, IFOF is a key fiber that links to autistic traits in healthy adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Kimito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miyata
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Genichi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sugihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sasamoto
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aso
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukuyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. Electronic address: hidehiko@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hidehiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autism; Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus; Posterior superior temporal sulcus; Tract-based spatial statistics; Tractography