Table 1.
Structural neuroimaging studies on autistic traits limited to autism-spectrum quotient in controls
| N | Sex %M | Age (SD) | Age range | AQ | AQ version | Measure | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMRI | ||||||||
| Kosaka et al. (2010) | 32 PDD-NOS 40 | 100 | 23.8 (4.2) | 18–34 | 32.0 (5.7) | Full | VBM | Higher AQ score ⇒ smaller GM volumes of R insula and R IFG for whole group, but not in NC separately |
| NC | 100 | 22.5 (4.3) | 17–32 | 17.1 (5.8) | ||||
| Von dem Hagen et al. (2011) | 91 NC | 41.8 | 25 (5) | 18–42 | 16 (7) | Full | VBM/fMRI | Higher AQ scores ⇒ smaller WM volume in pSTS; AQ was correlated with extent of cortical deactivation near pSTS for contrast stroop > rest |
| Geurts et al. (2013) | 85 NC | 62.4 | 21.5 (2.4) | 18–29 | 55.3 (17.2) | Fulla | VBM | Higher AQ score ⇒ larger GM volume of L middle frontal gyrus; and smaller GM volume in L IFG; L central gyrus; PCC; and L inferior and superior parietal lobe. |
| Saito et al. (2014) | 79 M NC | 29.4 (4.2) | 21–40 | 59.4 (11.4) | Fulla | VBM | Lower AQ prosociality score ⇒ smaller R insula in males, and lower prosociality scores ⇒ reduced structural coupling of R insula with ventral ACC in males | |
| 56 F NC | 28.1 (4.4) | 22–40 | 57.0 (13.6) | |||||
| Watanabe et al. (2014) | 51 ASD | 100 | 30.9 (8.2) | 19–51 | 35.5 (5.3) | Full | SulcoGyral pattern | No association between sulcal subtype and AQ score |
| 55 NC | 100 | 32 (7.1) | 19–49 | 14.3 (5.8) | ||||
| DTI | ||||||||
| Iidaka et al. (2012) | 30 | 46.7 | 22.5 (3.0) | n.a. | 21.2 (6.2) | Full | DTI/fMRI | Higher AQ score ⇒ larger volume of connectivity between the STS and AMG, and with imagination sub-scale |
AQ autism spectrum quotient, PDD-NOS pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, VBM voxel-based morphometry, NC neurotypical controls, M males, F females, L left, R right, ACC anterior cingulate cortex, AMG amygdala, GM gray matter, IFG inferior frontal gyrus, PCC posterior cingulate cortex, (p)STS (posterior) superior temporal sulcus, WM white matter
a4-point scale of AQ