Table 4.

MRS studies in ASD children.

Reference	Age range (years)	Cr+PCr	NAA	Cho	Glx	Findings in ASD group
Friedman et al. (2003) [129]	3–4	√	√	√		↓ Cr+PCr in frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital and thalamus ↓ NAA in bilateral frontal, parietal, and cingulate areas, and in right superior temporal gyrus and left putamen ↓ Cho in cortical areas, temporal lobes, and thalamus
DeVito et al. (2007) [128]	6–17	√	√	√	√	↓ Cr+PCr in GM of frontal, temporal, occipital cortices and cerebellum ↓ Cho in cortical areas, temporal lobes, and thalamus ↓ Glx in GM of frontal, occipital, and temporal regions as well as cerebellum
Hardan et al. (2008) [130]	8–15	√	√		√	↓ Cr+PCr in bilateral thalamus ↓ Cho in cortical areas, temporal lobes, and thalamus ↑ Glx of thalamus is associated with abnormal sensory sensitivity and deficits in body movement modulation
Corrigan et al. (2013) [138]	3–4	√	√	√	√	↓ Cr+PCr in GM and WM generally ↓ Cho in cortical areas, temporal lobes, and thalamus generally
Levitt et al. (2003) [131]	5–16	√	√	√		↓ Cr+PCr in frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and thalamus ↓ NAA in bilateral frontal and parietal areas, and in the left caudate ↓ Cho in cortical areas, temporal lobes, and thalamus ↑ Cho in caudate, anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus-amygdala complex
Friedman et al. (2006) [144]	3–4	√	√	√	√	↓ NAA in both GM and WM generally ↓ Cho in cortical areas, temporal lobes, and thalamus
Corrigan et al. (2013) [138]	3–4	√	√	√	√	↓ NAA in both GM and WM in cortical regions ↓ Glx in both cortical GM and WM generally
Fujii et al. (2010) [145]	2–13	√	√	√		↓ NAA/Cr+PCr in anterior cingulate cortex and a deficit in executive functions
Fayed et al. (2005) [178]	2–10		√	√		↓ Cho in both GM and WM of cortical areas, temporal lobes and thalamus
Vasconcelos et al. (2008) [148]	6–10	√	√	√	√	↓ Cr+PCr in cerebellum and striatum ↓ NAA in frontal areas ↑ Cho in caudate, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus-amygdala complex
Gabis et al. (2008) [146]	8–14		√	√		↓ NAA in Hippocampus-amygdala complex ↑ Cho in caudate, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus-amygdala complex
Doyle-Thomas et al. (2014) [151]	7–18	√	√	√	√	↓ Glx/Cr+PCr in cerebellum and ↑ Glx/Cr+PCr in putamen ↓ NAA/Cr+PCr in thalamus and ↑ NAA/Cr+PCr in caudate

Cho, Choline; Cr+PCr, creatine and phosphocreatine; Glx, glutamine,glutamate and GABA; GM, grey matter; NAA, N-acetylaspartate; WM, white matter.