title: Are Autistic Traits in the General Population Related to Global and Regional Brain Differences?
abstract: There is accumulating evidence that autistic-related traits in the general population lie on a continuum, with autism spectrum disorders representing the extreme end of this distribution. Here, we tested the hypothesis of a possible relationship between autistic traits and brain morphometry in the general population. Participants completed the short autism-spectrum quotient-questionnaire (AQ); T1-anatomical and DWI-scans were acquired. Associations between autistic traits and gray matter, and white matter microstructural-integrity were performed on the exploration-group (N = 204; 105 males, M-age = 22.85), and validated in the validation-group (N = 304; 155 males, M-age = 22.82). No significant associations were found between AQ-scores and brain morphometry in the exploration-group, or after pooling the data. This questions the assumption that autistic traits and their morphological associations do lie on a continuum in the general population.
authors.affiliation: Dutch Autism & ADHD Research Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, koolschijnpcmp@gmail.com.
authors.forename: P Cédric M P
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Koolschijn
authors.forename: Hilde M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Geurts
authors.forename: Andries R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: van der Leij
authors.forename: H Steven
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Scholte
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D066127:White Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003 May;60(5):524-30
references.pmid: 12742874
references.citation: Neurosci Lett. 2013 Aug 9;549:45-50
references.pmid: 23792265
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2010 May 1;50(4):1357-63
references.pmid: 20123027
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2005 Sep 7;25(36):8303-10
references.pmid: 16148238
references.citation: Autism Res. 2012 Dec;5(6):434-9
references.pmid: 23097380
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Mar;161(3):539-46
references.pmid: 14992981
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2007 Oct;37(9):1679-90
references.pmid: 17146701
references.citation: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014 Oct;9(10):1443-50
references.pmid: 23946005
references.citation: Phys Life Rev. 2011 Dec;8(4):410-37
references.pmid: 22018722
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2012 Feb 15;59(4):3356-63
references.pmid: 22062191
references.citation: IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2007 Apr;26(4):518-29
references.pmid: 17427739
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011 Apr;68(4):409-18
references.pmid: 21464365
references.citation: Autism Res. 2012 Feb;5(1):49-66
references.pmid: 22139976
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2012 Jan;36(1):604-25
references.pmid: 21963441
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2011 May;41(5):589-96
references.pmid: 20697795
references.citation: Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2011 Apr;156B(3):255-74
references.pmid: 21438136
references.citation: Genet Med. 2002 Mar-Apr;4(2):45-61
references.pmid: 11882781
references.citation: Magn Reson Med. 2003 Nov;50(5):1077-88
references.pmid: 14587019
references.citation: Neurosci Lett. 2012 Feb 29;510(2):154-8
references.pmid: 22285821
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e49172
references.pmid: 23185305
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004 Jul;22(3):1060-75
references.pmid: 15219578
references.citation: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2011 Dec;82(12):1304-13
references.pmid: 21693631
references.citation: Psychol Med. 2011 Jul;41(7):1539-50
references.pmid: 21078227
references.citation: Brain. 2005 May;128(Pt 5):1038-48
references.pmid: 15758039
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 1989 Jun;19(2):185-212
references.pmid: 2745388
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 2008 Jul;34(4):774-90
references.pmid: 18408230
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;67(4):406-13
references.pmid: 20368516
references.citation: Brain. 2010 Dec;133(Pt 12):3745-54
references.pmid: 20926367
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2003 Aug;33(4):427-33
references.pmid: 12959421
references.citation: Brain. 2013 Jun;136(Pt 6):1956-67
references.pmid: 23715094
references.citation: Med Image Anal. 2001 Jun;5(2):143-56
references.pmid: 11516708
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2010 May 5;30(18):6205-13
references.pmid: 20445046
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 2005 Dec;187:568-72
references.pmid: 16319410
references.citation: Trends Genet. 2006 Jun;22(6):306-13
references.pmid: 16697071
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2011 Jan;41(1):66-72
references.pmid: 20422277
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 1994 Oct;24(5):659-85
references.pmid: 7814313
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2011 Mar;21(3):493-500
references.pmid: 20439317
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Jul 15;31(4):1487-505
references.pmid: 16624579
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2008 Sep;38(8):1555-66
references.pmid: 18302013
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2010 Jun;20(6):1332-40
references.pmid: 19819933
references.citation: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014 Apr;9(4):520-8
references.pmid: 23386741
references.citation: Front Comput Neurosci. 2014 Jun 06;8:60
references.pmid: 24936183
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2011 Dec;41(12):1646-57
references.pmid: 21331821
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2013 Jul;43(7):1630-41
references.pmid: 23138728
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010 Oct;67(10):1052-60
references.pmid: 20921121
references.citation: Cortex. 2015 Jan;62:158-81
references.pmid: 25433958
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2001 Feb;31(1):5-17
references.pmid: 11439754
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004 Oct;23(2):724-38
references.pmid: 15488422
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 2007 Jun;28(6):488-501
references.pmid: 17440953
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2012 Apr 4;32(14):4856-60
references.pmid: 22492041
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2009 Aug;166(8):917-25
references.pmid: 19605538
references.citation: Autism Res. 2012 Oct;5(5):289-313
references.pmid: 22786754
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 2002 Nov;17(3):143-55
references.pmid: 12391568
references.citation: Psychol Med. 2012 Mar;42(3):647-56
references.pmid: 21798110
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2008 Jan;38(1):176-80
references.pmid: 17385086
references.citation: PLoS One. 2013;8(5):e63131
references.pmid: 23675456
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 2012 Jun;33(6):1470-89
references.pmid: 21692142
references.citation: JAMA Psychiatry. 2013 Jan;70(1):59-70
references.pmid: 23404046
references.citation: Eur Psychiatry. 2008 Jun;23(4):289-99
references.pmid: 17765485
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Sep 26;97(20):11050-5
references.pmid: 10984517
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2014 Jan;44(1):55-64
references.pmid: 23695223
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):179-94
references.pmid: 9931268
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2016 Apr;26(4):1440-52
references.pmid: 25316335
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2013 May;14(5):322-36
references.pmid: 23531697
references.citation: Autism Res. 2009 Oct;2(5):267-78
references.pmid: 19890876
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2011 Sep 15;58(2):391-400
references.pmid: 21749926
references.citation: J Autism Dev Disord. 2014 May;44(5):993-1007
references.pmid: 24342972
references.citation: Eur Psychiatry. 2015 Feb;30(2):214-20
references.pmid: 25561292
references.citation: J Vis. 2013;13(3):16
references.pmid: 23863334
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2004 Jan;14(1):11-22
references.pmid: 14654453