J Appl Biomed 19:91-96, 2021 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2021.009

The relationship between brain abnormalities and autistic psychopathology in pervasive developmental disorders

Andrea Efremova^{1, 3, *}, Jiri Lisy^{2, 5}, Michal Hrdlicka^{1, 4}

¹ University Hospital Motol and Charles University, Second Faculty of Medicine, Department of Child Psychiatry, Prague, Czech Republic

² University Hospital Motol and Charles University, Second Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Prague, Czech Republic

³ Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

⁴ Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology, Brno, Czech Republic

⁵ Hospital Na Homolce, Department of Radiology, Prague, Czech Republic

The aim of the present research has been to determine whether there is a relationship between brain abnormalities found on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and autistic psychopathology. A retrospective analysis covering a period between 1998 and 2015 included 489 children with autism (404 boys, 85 girls; average age 8.0 ± 4.2 years) who underwent an MRI of the brain. For clinical diagnosis of autism, the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), was used. Autistic psychopathology was evaluated by means of the Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised. The Spearman nonparametric correlation analysis and chi-square test were used to examine the possible relationships between variables. The group of autistic children did not manifest a statistically significant correlation between the parameters examined on MRI and autistic psychopathology. A correlation between other cysts and repetitive behavior was significant only at trend level (P = 0.054). Gliosis of the brain was significantly more frequent in autistic children with mental retardation than in children without mental retardation (14.1% vs. 7.4%; P = 0.028). Nonmyelinated areas in the brain were significantly more frequent in autistic children with autistic regression than in children without autistic regression (29.9% vs. 15.7%; P = 0.008). Mental retardation was significantly more frequent in autistic children with autistic regression than in children without regression (73.2% vs. 52.5%; P = 0.002). Our research study did not reveal a statistically significant correlation of brain abnormalities on MRI with autistic psychopathology.

Keywords: Autism; Brain; MRI; Psychopathology

Grants and funding:

This publication was written within the Charles University Progress program no. Q15, “Life trajectories, lifestyles, and quality of life from the perspective of individual adaptation and the relationship between actors and institutions”, and was supported by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, research grant no. NV18-04-00085, and the project for the Long-Term Conceptual Development of Research Organizations, project no. 00064203, at the University Hospital Motol. The funding sources had no involvement in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and in the writing of the report.

Conflicts of interest:

The authors state that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this article.

Received: October 26, 2020; Revised: February 11, 2021; Accepted: April 6, 2021; Prepublished online: April 14, 2021; Published: May 10, 2021  Show citation