Altered thalamotemporal structural connectivity is associated with autistic traits in children with ASD.

Background: Thalamocortical functional and structural connectivity alterations may contribute to clinical phenotype of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As previous studies focused mainly on thalamofrontal connections in ASD, we comprehensively investigated the thalamic functional networks and white matter pathways projecting also to temporal, parietal, occipital lobes and their associations with core and co-occurring conditions of this population.

Methods: A total of 38 children (19 with ASD) underwent magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral assessment.

[A tool to assess functional communication skills and its correspondence with traditional language testing in patients with brain tumors].

Objective: To identify the relationship between speech impairment as measured by the Russian Aphasia Test (RAT) and functional communication as assessed by the Communicative Effectiveness Index (CETI).

Material And Methods: RAT and CETI were administered to 87 patients at two time points, before surgery and in 3 months after brain tumor resection surgery.

Results: There were significant correlations between CETI and the total scores on RAT subtests for speech comprehension and production before surgery but not in the follow-up period.

Corpus callosum organization and its implication to core and co-occurring symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social interaction and communication deficits, repetitive behavior and often by co-occurring conditions such as language and non-verbal IQ development delays. Previous studies reported that those behavioral abnormalities can be associated with corpus callosum organization. However, little is known about the specific differences in white matter structure of the corpus callosum parts in children with ASD and TD peers and their relationships to core and co-occurring symptoms of ASD.

Structural brain abnormalities and their association with language impairment in school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Language impairment is comorbid in most children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but its neural basis is poorly understood. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the present study provides the whole-brain comparison of both volume- and surface-based characteristics between groups of children with and without ASD and investigates the relationships between these characteristics in language-related areas and the language abilities of children with ASD measured with standardized tools. A total of 36 school-aged children participated in the study: 18 children with ASD and 18 age- and sex-matched typically developing controls.

Expressive and Receptive Language in Russian Primary-School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Background: Abnormal language development in both expressive and receptive domains occurs in most children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), although the language deficit is not a core symptom of ASD. However, previous studies disagree on the difference in the degree of impairment between expressive and receptive language in ASD. Existing research has concentrated on vocabulary and 'global expressive and receptive language', often using parental reports for language assessment.

Language Abilities of Russian Primary-School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from Comprehensive Assessment.

The purpose of the present research was to comprehensively assess the language abilities of Russian primary-school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), varying in non-verbal IQ, at all linguistic levels (phonology, lexicon, morphosyntax, and discourse) in production and comprehension. Yet, the influence of such non-language factors as children's age, the severity of autistic traits, and non-verbal IQ on language functioning was studied. Our results indicate a high variability of language skills in children with ASD (from normal to impaired) which is in line with the previous studies.