A Longitudinal MRI Study of Infants at Risk for Autism

有自闭症风险的婴儿的纵向 MRI 研究

• 批准号: 7277017
• 负责人: Joseph Piven
• 金额: $ 283.06万
• 依托单位: UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-07-01 至 2012-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7277017
• 关键词: Age; Age-Months; Age-Years; Amygdaloid structure; Anisotropy; Appearance; Archives; Autistic Disorder; Base of the Brain; Behavior; Behavior assessment; Behavioral; Biological; Birth; Brain; Cerebellum; Cerebral cortex; Cerebrum; Child; Clinical; Condition; Corpus Callosum; Data; Data Coordinating Center; Databases; Detection; Development; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Enrollment; Equipment and supply inventories; Fiber; Future; Genetic; Gray unit of radiation dose; Growth; Head circumference; Image; Individual; Infant; Infant Behavior; Inferior; Institutes; Life; Lobe; Longitudinal Studies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Maps; Measures; Methods; Molecular; Neurologic; North Carolina; Pathogenesis; Pattern; Phenotype; Process; Property; Rate; Relative (related person); Research; Research Personnel; Risk; Sampling; Scanning; Score; Screening procedure; Severities; Siblings; Structure; Symptoms; Thick; Time; Tissues; Universities; Washington; autism spectrum disorder; base; behavior measurement; brain behavior; brain volume; clinical research site; comparison group; critical developmental period; design; follow-up; gray matter; image processing; indexing; insight; interest; neurobiological mechanism; postnatal; social; tool; white matter

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application for an Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) Network is a collaborative effort by investigators at four clinical sites: University of North Carolina (UNC), University of Washington (UW), Washington University (WU), and Yale University; and one data coordinating center (DCC) at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) to conduct a longitudinal MRI/DTI and behavioral study of infants at high risk for autism (i.e., siblings of autistic individuals) at 6, 12, and 24 months of age. Multiple lines of converging evidence (from MRI, post-mortem, and head circumference studies) document brain enlargement in autism. MRI studies have revealed generalized enlargement in cerebral cortical gray and white matter, and selected subcortical structures as early as two years of age. Longitudinal head circumference studies suggest the onset of brain overgrowth beginning in the latter part of the first year of life. Data from behavioral studies of infant siblings of autistic individuals (infant siblings who are therefore at high risk for developing an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD) suggest that some of the defining features of this condition are not present at six months of age (e.g., social deficits) and have their first appearance by 12 months. New imaging methods are available that now provide highly detailed MRI data and are well suited for rapid scanning of very young children. The investigators' MRI research team has developed image processing tools specifically designed for highly efficient, reliable, and valid processing of MRI data from birth to two years of age. New behavioral assessment tools (the AOSI and FYI), recently developed by investigators on this application, now enable the efficient screening and detection, at 12 months, of infants who are likely to meet criteria for autism at age two. In this application they propose to employ these new methods to conduct a longitudinal MRI/DTI study of six months old infant sibs of autistic individuals, with follow-up at 12 and 24 months of age. This study will provide important, new information about the trajectory of early postnatal brain overgrowth (regions, tissues, structures, and fiber tracts), as measured on MRI and DTI, and its potential relationship to clinical features. It has the potential to provide insights into developmental brain and behavioral phenotypes, as well as neurobiological mechanisms, that will inform other levels of analysis (e.g., molecular biological studies of this period), during what appears to be a critical period of development in the pathogenesis of autism.

描述（由申请人提供）：本自闭症卓越中心（ACE）网络的申请是四个临床地点的调查人员的合作努力：北卡罗来纳大学（UNC），华盛顿大学（UW），华盛顿大学（WU）和耶鲁大学；以及蒙特利尔神经学研究所（MNI）的一个数据协调中心（DCC），以在6、12和24个月大时对自闭症高风险（即自闭症个体的兄弟姐妹）进行高风险的婴儿进行纵向MRI/DTI和行为研究。 多种融合证据（来自MRI，验尸和头围研究）记录了自闭症的大脑增大。 MRI研究揭示了脑皮质灰和白质的普遍扩大，并最早在两岁时选择了皮质下结构。 纵向头围研究表明，从第一年的后期开始，大脑过度生长的开始。 来自自闭症患者婴儿兄弟姐妹的行为研究（因此，患有自闭症谱系障碍或ASD的高风险的婴儿兄弟姐妹）的数据表明，这种疾病的某些定义特征在六个月大时不存在（例如，社交缺陷），并且首次出现在12个月中。 现在可以使用新的成像方法，现在提供高度详细的MRI数据，并且非常适合快速扫描非常小的孩子。 研究人员的MRI研究团队开发了专门设计的图像处理工具，专门为从出生到两岁的MRI数据高效，可靠和有效的处理而设计。 新的行为评估工具（AOSI和FYI）最近是由研究人员对此应用开发的，现在可以在12个月时在12个月的时间进行有效的筛查和检测，这些婴儿可能在两岁时符合自闭症的标准。 在此应用中，他们建议采用这些新方法对自闭症患者的六个月大婴儿的纵向MRI/DTI研究，在12岁和24个月大时进行随访。 这项研究将提供有关早期出生后大脑过度生长（区域，组织，结构和纤维区域）的重要新信息，如MRI和DTI所测量的，及其与临床特征的潜在关系。 在自闭症发病机理中，它似乎是对其他分析水平的分析（例如，这一时期的分子生物学研究）的洞察力以及神经生物学机制的洞察力以及神经生物学机制。