Action viewing and language in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

The mirror neuron system consists of fronto-parietal regions and responds to both goal-directed action execution and observation. The broader action observation network is specifically involved in observation of actions and is thought to play a role in understanding the goals of the motor act, the intention of others, empathy, and language. Many, but not all, studies have found mirror neuron system or action observation network dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder.

Structural Connectivity and Emotion Recognition Impairment in Children and Adolescents with Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.

Children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) exhibit impaired ability to process and understand emotions in others.

Atypical PT anatomy in children with autism spectrum disorder with expressive language deficits.

Deficits in communication are a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, structural language abilities are highly variable, ranging from minimally verbal to superior linguistic skills. Differences in the anatomy of cortical language regions, including anterior and posterior areas, have been found in ASD. It remains unclear, however, if anatomical differences distinguish individuals with impaired expressive language from those without such deficits.

Atypical activation of action-semantic network in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

In typical adults, fMRI studies have shown activation of primary and pre-motor regions during action word processing. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communication impairments. ASD studies have shown atypical semantic processing and motor deficits.

Handedness in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The left hemisphere is usually predominant in manual skills and language, suggesting a link between hand dominance and language. Studies of autism spectrum disorder show atypical handedness; however, few have examined language-handedness associations. Handedness, assessed by task performance, and standardized receptive and expressive language tests were completed in 110 autism spectrum disorder children (96 boys; M age = 8.

Structural asymmetries of language-related gray and white matter and their relationship to language function in young children with ASD.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are highly variable in their language abilities, but the neural bases of these individual differences are poorly understood. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography were used to examine asymmetries in language-related gray- and white-matter and their relationships to language ability in a sample of 20 children with ASD, aged 4-7 years, and a reference sample of 20 typically developing (TD) children, aged 6-11 years. Children with ASD did not differ significantly from TD children in gray matter asymmetries, but were significantly less left-lateralized than TD children in the volume and radial diffusivity (RD) of the arcuate fasciculus (AF).

Prefrontal and occipital asymmetry and volume in boys with autism spectrum disorder.

Objective: To examine prefrontal and occipital asymmetry (brain torque) in boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and controls. A secondary aim was to study age-related changes in gray and white matter volume.

Background: Several studies have found atypical early cortical development in ASD.

Sylvian fissure and parietal anatomy in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social functioning and language and communication, with restricted interests or stereotyped behaviors. Anatomical differences have been found in the parietal cortex in children with ASD, but parietal subregions and associations between Sylvian fissure (SF) and parietal anatomy have not been explored. In this study, SF length and anterior and posterior parietal volumes were measured on MRI in 30 right-handed boys with ASD and 30 right-handed typically developing boys (7-14 years), matched on age and non-verbal IQ.

Age-Related Changes in the Anatomy of Language Regions in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Impairments in language and communication are core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The anatomy of critical language areas has been studied in ASD with inconsistent findings. We used MRI to measure gray matter volume and asymmetry of Heschl's gyrus, planum temporale, pars triangularis, and pars opercularis in 40 children and adolescents with ASD and 40 typically developing individuals, each divided into younger (7-11 years) and older (12-19 years) cohorts.

Language laterality in autism spectrum disorder and typical controls: a functional, volumetric, and diffusion tensor MRI study.

Language and communication deficits are among the core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Reduced or reversed asymmetry of language has been found in a number of disorders, including ASD. Studies of healthy adults have found an association between language laterality and anatomical measures but this has not been systematically investigated in ASD.

fMRI activation during a language task in adolescents with ASD.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by language and communication impairments, social impairments, and repetitive behaviors or restricted interests. Previous studies of semantic functions have found differences in semantic processing and differences in the activation of the language network in adults with ASD compared to controls. The goal of this study is to examine semantic functions in adolescents with ASD compared to typically developing adolescents.

Effective and structural connectivity in the human auditory cortex.

Language processing involves multiple neuronal structures in the human auditory cortex. Although a variety of neuroimaging and mapping techniques have been implemented to better understand language processing at the level of the auditory cortex, much is unknown regarding how and by what pathways these structures interact during essential tasks such as sentence comprehension. In this study, the effective and structural connectivity at the level of the auditory cortex were investigated.

Anatomical asymmetries of anterior perisylvian speech-language regions.

Anterior cortical perisylvian areas important for speech and language functions include the pars triangularis (PTR), comprised of heteromodal association cortex, and the pars opercularis (POP), comprised of motor association cortex. The anatomy of these frontal language regions has not been well studied in large samples, however in smaller samples, leftward asymmetry of these regions has been found. Sex-linked differences have also been suggested, with bilateral activation of frontal language areas in women and leftward activation in men.

Function and connectivity in human primary auditory cortex: a combined fMRI and DTI study at 3 Tesla.

Human primary auditory cortex (PAC) is functionally organized in a tonotopic manner. Past studies have used neuroimaging to characterize tonotopic organization in PAC and found similar organization as that described in mammals. In contrast to what is known about PAC in primates and nonprimates, in humans, the structural connectivity within PAC has not been defined.

Lobar asymmetries in subtypes of dyslexic and control subjects.

Reading involves phonologic decoding, in which readers "sound out" a word; orthographic decoding, in which readers recognize a word visually, as in "sight reading"; and comprehension. Because reading can involve multiple processes, dyslexia might be a heterogeneous disorder. This study investigated behavior and gross lobar anatomy in subtypes of dyslexic and control subjects.

Variability in perisylvian brain anatomy in healthy adults.

Gray matter volumes of Heschl's gyrus (HG), planum temporale (PT), pars triangularis (PTR), and pars opercularis were measured on MRI in 48 healthy right-handers. There was the expected leftward PT asymmetry in 70.8%, and leftward PTR asymmetry in 64.

Sex-linked differences in the anatomy of the perisylvian language cortex: a volumetric MRI study of gray matter volumes.

Perisylvian regions important for auditory processing include Heschl's gyrus (HG), the planum temporale (PT), the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG), and the posterior ascending ramus (PAR). Sex-linked differences in language functions and anatomy have been suggested. To examine sex-linked differences, the authors used MRI to measure HG, PT, pSTG, and PAR volumes.