An MRI and proton spectroscopy study of the thalamus in children with autism

Hardan, Antonio Y.; Minshew, Nancy J.; Melhem, Nadine M.; Srihari, Sumana; Jo, Booil; Bansal, Rahul; Keshavan, Matcheri S.; Stanley, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2007.12.002

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 163, Issue 2 , Pages 97-105, 15 July 2008

An MRI and proton spectroscopy study of the thalamus in children with autism

Antonio Y. Hardan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Corresponding author. 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305. Tel.: +1 650 724 8919; fax: +1 650 724 7389.
Nancy J. Minshew
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Nadine M. Melhem
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Sumana Srihari
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Booil Jo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Rahul Bansal
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
Matcheri S. Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
Jeffrey A. Stanley
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

Received 11 February 2007; received in revised form 22 September 2007; accepted 18 December 2007.

Abstract

Thalamic alterations have been reported in autism, but the relationships between these abnormalities and clinical symptoms, specifically sensory features, have not been elucidated. The goal of this investigation is to combine two neuroimaging methods to examine further the pathophysiology of thalamic anomalies in autism and to identify any association with sensory deficits. Structural MRI and multi-voxel, short echo-time proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H MRS) measurements were collected from 18 male children with autism and 16 healthy children. Anatomical measurements of thalamic nuclei and absolute concentration levels of key ¹H MRS metabolites were obtained. Sensory abnormalities were assessed using a sensory profile questionnaire. Lower levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), phosphocreatine and creatine, and choline-containing metabolites were observed on the left side in the autism group compared with controls. No differences in thalamic volumes were observed between the two groups. Relationships, although limited, were observed between measures of sensory abnormalities and ¹H MRS metabolites. Findings from this study support the role of the thalamus in the pathophysiology of autism and more specifically in the sensory abnormalities observed in this disorder. Further investigations of this structure are warranted, since it plays an important role in information processing as part of the cortico–thalamo–cortical pathways.

Keywords: Sensory profile questionnaire (SPQ), Sensory abnormalities, N-Acetylaspartate (NAA)