Brief report: Biochemical correlates of clinical impairment in high functioning autism and asperger's disorder

Natalia M. Kleinhans; Todd Richards; Kurt E. Weaver; Olivia Liang; Geraldine Dawson; Elizabeth Aylward

doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0707-6

Brief report: Biochemical correlates of clinical impairment in high functioning autism and asperger's disorder

Natalia M. Kleinhans, Todd Richards, Kurt E. Weaver, Olivia Liang, Geraldine Dawson, Elizabeth Aylward

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Amygdala dysfunction has been proposed as a critical contributor to social impairment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study investigated biochemical abnormalities in the amygdala in 20 high functioning adults with autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder and 19 typically developing adults matched on age and IQ. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cre), choline/choline containing compounds (Cho), and Myoinositol (mI) in the right and left amygdala. There were no significant between-group differences in any of the metabolites. However, NAA and Cre levels were significantly correlated to clinical ratings on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. This suggests that altered metabolite levels in the amygdala may be associated with a more severe early developmental course in ASD.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1079-1086
Number of pages	8
Journal	Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume	39
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0707-6
State	Published - Jul 2009
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Amygdala
Asperger's disorder
Autism
MRS

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Developmental and Educational Psychology

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10.1007/s10803-009-0707-6

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title = "Brief report: Biochemical correlates of clinical impairment in high functioning autism and asperger's disorder",

abstract = "Amygdala dysfunction has been proposed as a critical contributor to social impairment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study investigated biochemical abnormalities in the amygdala in 20 high functioning adults with autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder and 19 typically developing adults matched on age and IQ. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cre), choline/choline containing compounds (Cho), and Myoinositol (mI) in the right and left amygdala. There were no significant between-group differences in any of the metabolites. However, NAA and Cre levels were significantly correlated to clinical ratings on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. This suggests that altered metabolite levels in the amygdala may be associated with a more severe early developmental course in ASD.",

keywords = "Amygdala, Asperger's disorder, Autism, MRS",

author = "Kleinhans, {Natalia M.} and Todd Richards and Weaver, {Kurt E.} and Olivia Liang and Geraldine Dawson and Elizabeth Aylward",

note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgments This work was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U19 HD34565) and the National Institute of Mental Health (U54MH066399).",

year = "2009",

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doi = "10.1007/s10803-009-0707-6",

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AU - Richards, Todd

AU - Weaver, Kurt E.

AU - Liang, Olivia

AU - Dawson, Geraldine

AU - Aylward, Elizabeth

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgments This work was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U19 HD34565) and the National Institute of Mental Health (U54MH066399).

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N2 - Amygdala dysfunction has been proposed as a critical contributor to social impairment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study investigated biochemical abnormalities in the amygdala in 20 high functioning adults with autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder and 19 typically developing adults matched on age and IQ. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cre), choline/choline containing compounds (Cho), and Myoinositol (mI) in the right and left amygdala. There were no significant between-group differences in any of the metabolites. However, NAA and Cre levels were significantly correlated to clinical ratings on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. This suggests that altered metabolite levels in the amygdala may be associated with a more severe early developmental course in ASD.

AB - Amygdala dysfunction has been proposed as a critical contributor to social impairment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study investigated biochemical abnormalities in the amygdala in 20 high functioning adults with autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder and 19 typically developing adults matched on age and IQ. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cre), choline/choline containing compounds (Cho), and Myoinositol (mI) in the right and left amygdala. There were no significant between-group differences in any of the metabolites. However, NAA and Cre levels were significantly correlated to clinical ratings on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. This suggests that altered metabolite levels in the amygdala may be associated with a more severe early developmental course in ASD.

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KW - Asperger's disorder

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Brief report: Biochemical correlates of clinical impairment in high functioning autism and asperger's disorder

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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