Functional neuroimaging and childhood autism - Springer Link

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Monica Zilbovicius. Functional neuroimaging and childhood autism. Received: 5 February 2001. Accepted: 7 July 2001. Published online: 13 November 2001.
Pediatr Radiol (2002) 32: 1±7 DOI 10.1007/s00247-001-0570-x

Nathalie Boddaert Monica Zilbovicius

Received: 5 February 2001 Accepted: 7 July 2001 Published online: 13 November 2001 Ó Springer-Verlag 2001 Presented in part at 37th Annual Congress of ESPR, Lisbon, May 2000

N. Boddaert (&) Service de Radiologie PeÂdiatrique, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, 149 rue de SeÁvres, 75015 Paris, France E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +33-1-44495171 Fax: +33-1-44495170 N. Boddaert á M. Zilbovicius Service Hospitalier FreÂdeÂric Joliot, DRM, DSV, CEA, Orsay, France M. Zilbovicius INSERM Unite 316, CHU Bretonneau, Tours, France

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Functional neuroimaging and childhood autism

Abstract Childhood autism is now widely viewed as being of developmental neurobiological origin. Yet, localised structural and functional brain correlates of autism have to be established. Structural brainimaging studies performed in autistic patients have reported abnormalities such as increased total brain volume and cerebellar abnormalities. However, none of these abnormalities fully account for the full range of autistic symptoms. Functional brain imaging, such as positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and functional MRI (fMRI) have added a new perspective to the study of normal and pathological brain functions. In autism, functional studies have been performed at rest or during activa-

Introduction Childhood autism is a severe developmental disorder that impairs the acquisition of some of the most important skills in life. Core clinical features include impaired social interactions, verbal and non-verbal communication de®ciencies, limited activities and interest, and stereotypical patterns of behaviour [1, 2]. As a result of several epidemiological studies, autism is now considered as an organic cerebral dysfunction. Firstly, mental retardation (IQ