Altered Neural Connectivity in Females, But Not Males with Autism: Preliminary Evidence for the Female Protective Effect from a Quality-Controlled Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study.
Jiedi Lei, Emma Lecarie, Jane Jurayj and 5 others
PMID 31347307WHAT IT FOUND
Brain wiring measures showed lower white matter integrity in girls with autism compared with girls without autism, but not in boys.
This is preliminary imaging evidence, not a clinical test or treatment result.
Key findings
01In males, no significant fractional anisotropy differences were found between autism and typically developing groups across fiber tracts.
02In females, fractional anisotropy was significantly lower across association, projection, and commissural fibers in the autism group compared with typically developing females, and no fiber tract showed significantly higher fractional anisotropy.
03In females, fractional anisotropy was not significantly correlated with Social Responsiveness Scale scores after correction for multiple comparisons.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study measured fractional anisotropy. Crossing fibers can bias this measure, so it may not directly show white matter integrity. The sample was moderate, especially the female comparison (25 with autism and 16 without). The female finding is preliminary. Participants ranged from 4 to 21 years with autism and 5 to 18 years typically developing. Developmental differences were not separated. Most participants had IQ above 70 and no co-occurring psychiatric or neurological conditions. This limits how far the results apply to the full autism spectrum. No significant correlations were found between fractional anisotropy and Social Responsiveness Scale scores. The imaging result did not explain measured symptom severity. The authors state that effect sizes from the imaging analysis may be inflated and are only for relative comparison across tracts.
Declared interests
All authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was supported by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Autism Speaks, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Simons Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the female-only white matter finding as proof that girls with autism have more severe symptoms or need different therapy. The study found no sex difference in Social Responsiveness Scale scores and no significant correlation between fractional anisotropy and those scores.