An MRI study of the Corpus Callosum, and Cerebellum in Mentally Retarded Autistic Individuals

FACUNDO MANES; JOSEPH PIVEN; DANIELA VRANCIC; VALERIA NANCLARES; CHRISTIAN PLEBST; SERGIO STARKSTEIN

THE JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES.

AMER PSYCHIATRIC PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Arlington; Año: 1999 vol. 11 p. 470 - 474

0895-0172

The areas of seven subregions of the corpus callosum and three subregions of the cerebellum were examined on midsagittal magnetic resonance imaging scans of 27 low-IQ autistic individuals and 17 nonautistic individuals of comparable mental age. Autistic individuals had a significantly smaller corpus callosum (most marked in the body). No significant between-group differences were found in cerebellum areas. Results demonstrate that abnormalities of the corpus callosum reported in high-functioning autistic individuals are also present in autistic individuals with mental retardation and extend previous reports showing no evidence for a selective hypoplasia of cerebellar lobules VI-VII.