title: A Volumetric and Functional Connectivity MRI Study of Brain Arginine-Vasopressin Pathways in Autistic Children.
abstract: Dysfunction of brain-derived arginine-vasopressin (AVP) systems may be involved in the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Certain regions such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus are known to contain either AVP neurons or terminals and may play an important role in regulating complex social behaviors. The present study was designed to investigate the concomitant changes in autistic behaviors, circulating AVP levels, and the structure and functional connectivity (FC) of specific brain regions in autistic children compared with typically developing children (TDC) aged from 3 to 5 years. The results showed: (1) children with ASD had a significantly increased volume in the left amygdala and left hippocampus, and a significantly decreased volume in the bilateral hypothalamus compared to TDC, and these were positively correlated with plasma AVP level. (2) Autistic children had a negative FC between the left amygdala and the bilateral supramarginal gyri compared to TDC. The degree of the negative FC between amygdala and supramarginal gyrus was associated with a higher score on the clinical autism behavior checklist. (3) The degree of negative FC between left amygdala and left supramarginal gyrus was associated with a lowering of the circulating AVP concentration in boys with ASD. (4) Autistic children showed a higher FC between left hippocampus and right subcortical area compared to TDC. (5) The circulating AVP was negatively correlated with the visual and listening response score of the childhood autism rating scale. These results strongly suggest that changes in structure and FC in brain regions containing AVP may be involved in the etiology of autism.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.|Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.|Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jing
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Shou
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.|Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.|Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Jie
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Zhu
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Shu
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.|Key Laboratory of Ministry of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Mei-Xiang
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Sunshine Friendship Rehabilitation Centre, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Qing-Yun
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
authors.forename: Song-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. zhangrong@bjmu.edu.cn.|Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. zhangrong@bjmu.edu.cn.|Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. zhangrong@bjmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. hanjisheng@bjmu.edu.cn.|Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. hanjisheng@bjmu.edu.cn.|Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. hanjisheng@bjmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ji-Sheng
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000097:blood*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D001127:Arginine Vasopressin
keywords: Arginine-vasopressin; Autism; Behavior; Children; Connectivity; MRI; Structure