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Published Online: 13 January 2015

Cortical Morphology in 6- to 10-Year Old Children With Autistic Traits: A Population-Based Neuroimaging Study

Laura M.E. Blanken, M.D., M.Sc., Sabine E. Mous, M.Sc., Akhgar Ghassabian, M.D., Ph.D., Ryan L. Muetzel, M.Sc., Nikita K. Schoemaker, M.Sc., Hanan El Marroun, Ph.D., Aad van der Lugt, M.D., Ph.D., Vincent W.V. Jaddoe, M.D., Ph.D., Albert Hofman, M.D., Ph.D., Frank C. Verhulst, M.D., Ph.D., Henning Tiemeier, M.D., Ph.D., and Tonya White, M.D., Ph.D.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry
Volume 172, Number 5
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.14040482
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Abstract

Objective:

Recent evidence suggests that symptoms of social impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) form a spectrum that extends into the general population. However, it is unclear whether the neuroanatomy of ASD also shows a similar continuum in the general population. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between cortical morphology and autistic traits along a continuum in a large population-based sample of young children.

Method:

The study included 717 children, aged 6–10 years, who are participants in the Generation R Study, a large population-based cohort. Autistic traits were measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale when the children were approximately 6 years old. High-resolution MRI was obtained, and morphological measures of the cortex, including cortical thickness and gyrification, were quantified brain-wide.

Results:

Children with more autistic traits showed widespread areas of decreased gyrification. After excluding children with the highest autistic traits and confirmed ASD, the association remained present in a large cluster involving the left hemisphere temporal and precuneus regions. Comparable, but nonsignificant, effects when comparing a small sample of confirmed ASD case subjects with age- and gender-matched control subjects were observed.

Conclusions:

Differences in cortical morphology related to autistic traits along a continuum in a large population-based sample of school-aged children were found. Part of these differences remained after excluding the most severely affected children. These findings lend support to an extension of the neurobiology of autistic traits to the general population.

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Supplementary Material

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
American Journal of Psychiatry
Volume 172 • Number 5 • May 01, 2015
Pages: 479 - 486
PubMed: 25585034

History

Received: 14 April 2014
Revision received: 28 August 2014
Revision received: 6 October 2014
Accepted: 10 October 2014
Published online: 13 January 2015
Published in print: May 01, 2015

Authors

Affiliations

Laura M.E. Blanken, M.D., M.Sc.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Sabine E. Mous, M.Sc.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Akhgar Ghassabian, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Ryan L. Muetzel, M.Sc.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Nikita K. Schoemaker, M.Sc.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Hanan El Marroun, Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Aad van der Lugt, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Vincent W.V. Jaddoe, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Albert Hofman, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Frank C. Verhulst, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Henning Tiemeier, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Tonya White, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Notes

Address correspondence to Dr. White ([email protected]).

Funding Information

Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development10.13039/501100001826: 91211021
Supported by the FP7 grant Action FP-7 Health Innovation 2013 (number, 602768) (to Dr. Tiemeier) and by ZonMw TOP (project number, 91211021) (to Dr. White). The general design of the Generation R Study is supported by the Erasmus Medical Center-Rotterdam, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The Generation R Study is conducted by the Erasmus Medical Center in close collaboration with the School of Law and the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area, the Rotterdam Homecare Foundation, and the Stichting Trombosedienst and Artsenlaboratorium Rijnmond.

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