Cerebellar Volumes and Sensorimotor Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Sensorimotor issues are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though their neural bases are not well understood. The cerebellum is vital to sensorimotor control and reduced cerebellar volumes in ASD have been documented. Our study examined the extent to which cerebellar volumes are associated wi...
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Published in | Frontiers in integrative neuroscience Vol. 16; p. 821109 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
Frontiers Research Foundation
03.05.2022
Frontiers Media S.A |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Sensorimotor issues are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though their neural bases are not well understood. The cerebellum is vital to sensorimotor control and reduced cerebellar volumes in ASD have been documented. Our study examined the extent to which cerebellar volumes are associated with multiple sensorimotor behaviors in ASD.
Fifty-eight participants with ASD and 34 typically developing (TD) controls (8-30 years) completed a structural MRI scan and precision grip testing, oculomotor testing, or both. Force variability during precision gripping as well as absolute error and trial-to-trial error variability of visually guided saccades were examined. Volumes of cerebellar lobules, vermis, and white matter were quantified. The relationships between each cerebellar region of interest (ROI) and force variability, saccade error, and saccade error variability were examined.
Relative to TD controls, individuals with ASD showed increased force variability. Individuals with ASD showed a reduced volume of cerebellar vermis VI-VII relative to TD controls. Relative to TD females, females with ASD showed a reduced volume of bilateral cerebellar Crus II/lobule VIIB. Increased volume of Crus I was associated with increased force variability. Increased volume of vermal lobules VI-VII was associated with reduced saccade error for TD controls but not individuals with ASD. Increased right lobule VIII and cerebellar white matter volumes as well as reduced right lobule VI and right lobule X volumes were associated with greater ASD symptom severity. Reduced volumes of right Crus II/lobule VIIB were associated with greater ASD symptom severity in only males, while reduced volumes of right Crus I were associated with more severe restricted and repetitive behaviors only in females.
Our finding that increased force variability in ASD is associated with greater cerebellar Crus I volumes indicates that disruption of sensory feedback processing supported by Crus I may contribute to skeletomotor differences in ASD. Results showing that volumes of vermal lobules VI-VII are associated with saccade precision in TD but not ASD implicates atypical organization of the brain systems supporting oculomotor control in ASD. Associations between volumes of cerebellar subregions and ASD symptom severity suggest cerebellar pathological processes may contribute to multiple developmental challenges in ASD. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Edited by: Eric London, Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR), United States Reviewed by: Anila Maria D’Mello, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States; Lana Vasung, Harvard Medical School, United States |
ISSN: | 1662-5145 1662-5145 |
DOI: | 10.3389/fnint.2022.821109 |