Whole-brain gray matter maturation trajectories associated with autistic traits from adolescence to early adulthood

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Guillaume Gros - , Sorbonne Université, Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (Author)
  • Ruben Miranda Marcos - , Sorbonne Université, Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (Author)
  • Anthony Latrille - , Université de Bordeaux (Author)
  • Ana Saitovitch - , Université Paris Cité (Author)
  • Fanny Gollier-Briant - , Université de Nantes (Author)
  • Philippe Fossati - , Sorbonne Université, Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (Author)
  • Liane Schmidt - , Sorbonne Université (Author)
  • Tobias Banaschewski - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Gareth Barker - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Arun Bokde - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Sylvane Desrivieres - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Antoine Grigis - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Hugh Garavan - , University of Vermont (Author)
  • Penny Gowland - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Andreas Heinz - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Ruediger Bruehl - , Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Author)
  • Jean Luc Martinot - , École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Marie Laure Paillère Martinot - , École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (Author)
  • Eric Artiges - , École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, EPS Barthélémy Durand (Author)
  • Frauke Nees - , Heidelberg University , Kiel University (Author)
  • Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Luise Poustka - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Sarah Hohmann - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • Nathalie Holz - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Juliane H. Fröhner - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center (Author)
  • Michael N. Smolka - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center (Author)
  • Nilakshi Vaidya - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Henrik Walter - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Robert Whelan - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Gunter Schumann - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Fudan University (Author)
  • Hervé Lemaitre - , Université de Bordeaux (Author)
  • Hélène Vulser - , Sorbonne Université, Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (Author)

Abstract

A growing number of evidence supports a continued distribution of autistic traits in the general population. However, brain maturation trajectories of autistic traits as well as the influence of sex on these trajectories remain largely unknown. We investigated the association of autistic traits in the general population, with longitudinal gray matter (GM) maturation trajectories during the critical period of adolescence. We assessed 709 community-based adolescents (54.7% women) at age 14 and 22. After testing the effect of sex, we used whole-brain voxel-based morphometry to measure longitudinal GM volumes changes associated with autistic traits measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) total and sub-scores. In women, we observed that the SRS was associated with slower GM volume decrease globally and in the left parahippocampus and middle temporal gyrus. The social communication sub-score correlated with slower GM volume decrease in the left parahippocampal, superior temporal gyrus, and pallidum; and the social cognition sub-score correlated with slower GM volume decrease in the left middle temporal gyrus, the right ventromedial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex. No longitudinal association was found in men. Autistic traits in young women were found to be associated with specific brain trajectories in regions of the social brain and the reward circuit known to be involved in Autism Spectrum Disorder. These findings support both the hypothesis of an earlier GM maturation associated with autistic traits in adolescence and of protective mechanisms in women. They advocate for further studies on brain trajectories associated with autistic traits in women.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages15
JournalBrain Structure and Function
Volume2023
Early online date11 Oct 2023
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 11 Oct 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 37819410
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/150329539
ORCID /0000-0002-8493-6396/work/150330259

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Adolescent, Autistic traits, Gray matter, Longitudinal, MRI, Women

Library keywords