Increased hippocampal shape asymmetry and volumetric ventricular asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder

Rose Richards; Ellen Greimel; Dorit Kliemann; Inga K Koerte; Gerd Schulte-Körne; Martin Reuter; Christian Wachinger

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102207

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Increased hippocampal shape asymmetry and volumetric ventricular asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Increased hippocampal shape asymmetry and volumetric ventricular asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder

Rose Richards, Ellen Greimel, Dorit Kliemann, Inga K Koerte, Gerd Schulte-Körne, Martin Reuter and Christian Wachinger

NeuroImage clinical, Vol.26, pp.102207-102207

2020

DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102207

PMCID: PMC7037573

PMID: 32092683

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Abstract

• Found increased subcortical asymmetry associated with autism. • Utilized a new measure of shape asymmetry for analysis of structural differences. • Observed significantly increased shape asymmetry of the hippocampus. • Observed significantly increased volumetric asymmetry in the lateral ventricles. • Focalized abnormalities may result in detectable shape (but not volume) differences. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent and fast-growing pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder worldwide. Despite the increasing prevalence of ASD and the breadth of research conducted on the disorder, a conclusive etiology has yet to be established and controversy still exists surrounding the anatomical abnormalities in ASD. In particular, structural asymmetries have seldom been investigated in ASD, especially in subcortical regions. Additionally, the majority of studies for identifying structural biomarkers associated with ASD have focused on small sample sizes. Therefore, the present study utilizes a large-scale, multi-site database to investigate asymmetries in the amygdala, hippocampus, and lateral ventricles, given the potential involvement of these regions in ASD. Contrary to prior work, we are not only computing volumetric asymmetries, but also shape asymmetries, using a new measure of asymmetry based on spectral shape descriptors. This measure represents the magnitude of the asymmetry and therefore captures both directional and undirectional asymmetry. The asymmetry analysis is conducted on 437 individuals with ASD and 511 healthy controls using T1-weighted MRI scans from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) database. Results reveal significant asymmetries in the hippocampus and the ventricles, but not in the amygdala, in individuals with ASD. We observe a significant increase in shape asymmetry in the hippocampus, as well as increased volumetric asymmetry in the lateral ventricles in individuals with ASD. Asymmetries in these regions have not previously been reported, likely due to the different characterization of neuroanatomical asymmetry and smaller sample sizes used in previous studies. Given that these results were demonstrated in a large cohort, such asymmetries may be worthy of consideration in the development of neurodiagnostic classification tools for ASD.

Autism

Asymmetry

Amygdala

MRI

Regular

Ventricles

Hippocampus

Details

Title: Subtitle: Increased hippocampal shape asymmetry and volumetric ventricular asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder
Creators: Rose Richards - Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Nussbaumstr. 5a, 80336 Munich, Germany
Ellen Greimel - Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Nussbaumstr. 5a, 80336 Munich, Germany
Dorit Kliemann - Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Inga K Koerte - Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Nussbaumstr. 5a, 80336 Munich, Germany
Gerd Schulte-Körne - Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Nussbaumstr. 5a, 80336 Munich, Germany
Martin Reuter - A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 Thirteenth Street, Suite 2301, Charlestown, MA, USA
Christian Wachinger - Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Nussbaumstr. 5a, 80336 Munich, Germany
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: NeuroImage clinical, Vol.26, pp.102207-102207
DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102207
PMID: 32092683
PMCID: PMC7037573
NLM abbreviation: Neuroimage Clin
ISSN: 2213-1582
eISSN: 2213-1582
Publisher: Elsevier
Language: English
Date published: 2020
Academic Unit: Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984065736802771

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