NEUROLOGY 1997;49:546-551
© 1997 American Academy of Neurology
An MRI study of autism: The cerebellum revisited
Joseph Piven, MD,
Khalil Saliba, MD,
James Bailey, BS and
Stephan Arndt, PhD
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Joseph Piven, 1875 John Pappajohn Pavilion, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242-1057.
We addressed the controversies surrounding the size of the neocerebellar vermis in autism and examined cerebellar size in light of recent reports of enlarged brain size in this disorder. In this study we use detailed MRI (1.5 mm) to examine the area of cerebellar lobules I through V and VI and VII and the volume of the total cerebellum in 35 autistic subjects and 36 controls. No abnormalities in the size of cerebellar lobules VI and VII in autistic individuals were detected, but the volume of the total cerebellum was significantly increased. We conclude that selective neocerebellar size abnormalities are not present in autistic individuals. Enlarged total cerebellar volume detected in this study is consistent with previous reports of regional brain enlargement in autism and also consistent with theories hypothesizing that the primary defect in autism is the result of abnormal development of a distributed neural network involving a number of regions of the brain.
Supported in part by a March of Dimes Clinical Research Grant and National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH51217, MH01028, MH40856, and MH43271.
Received August 13, 1996. Accepted in final form February 19, 1997.
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