The longitudinal bidirectional relationship between autistic traits and brain morphology from childhood to adolescence: a population-based cohort study.
Melisa Durkut, Elisabet Blok, Anna Suleri and 1 others
PMID 35790991WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with higher autistic traits showed specific brain structure differences, including less gyrification and smaller surface area.
However, brain scans at age 6-9 did not predict later autistic traits, nor did early traits predict later brain changes. The link is cross-sectional, not longitudinal.
Key findings
01Higher levels of autistic traits in adolescence were associated with lower gyrification, smaller surface area, and larger cortical thickness in widespread brain regions.
02Longitudinal analysis found no significant association where earlier brain morphology predicted later autistic traits, or where earlier autistic traits predicted later brain morphology.
03When attention problems and IQ were included as covariates in sensitivity analyses, the significant associations between autistic traits and brain measures disappeared.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The longitudinal sample was small (N=304), which may have reduced statistical power to detect effects. Two different MRI scanners were used at baseline and follow-up, which could introduce measurement variance. Autistic traits were measured at only two time points, limiting the ability to distinguish within-person from between-person effects. The significant cross-sectional associations were not robust to adjustment for IQ and attention problems. Non-response analyses showed that excluded participants were more likely to be boys, of non-Dutch ethnicity, and from lower-income families, potentially limiting generalizability.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), Erasmus MC, and the European Research Council. The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the cross-sectional brain differences as evidence that autistic traits cause brain changes over time, or vice versa. The longitudinal data showed no predictive relationship, and the cross-sectional findings lost significance when controlling for IQ and attention problems.