Diffusion Tensor Imaging And Tractography In Autistic, Dysphasic, And Healthy Control Children

Figures & data

Table 1 Descriptive Characteristics Of The Sample Subgroups

Subgroup	Mean (SD) Or Frequency (%)			Comparison
	ASD (N=39)	DD (N=36)	HC (N=38)
Age (years)	8.0 (2.5)	8.9 (2.2)	9.2 (1.6)	F=2.949, df=2, P=0.057
Gender (boys/girls)	35/4	25/11	17/21	Chi^2=18.000, df=2, P<0.001
Handedness (right-handed)	30	31	31	Chi^2=1.276, df=2, P=0.528

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; ASD, autism spectrum disorders; DD, developmental dysphasia; HC, healthy controls; N, number of children.

Table 2 Diffusivity Measures And Volumes Of The Investigated Tracts

Tract	Median Values			Statistics (df=2)		Post-Hoc Tests (p-Values)
	A	D	C	Chi^2	P	A vs C	D vs C	A vs D	SUMMARY
Fractional anisotropy
AF left	0.499980	0.513026	0.517157	8.5539	0.014*	0.011	0.545	0.171	A<C; D=C; A=D
AF right	0.4702670	0.4924285	0.4928265	13.169	0.001*	0.001	0.569	0.037	A<(D=C)
IFOF left	0.5113870	0.5197265	0.5350990	14.561	<0.001*	<0.001	0.155	0.137	A<C; D=C; A=D
IFOF right	0.4869060	0.4998625	0.5091060	19.059	<0.001*	<0.001	0.671	0.004	A<(D=C)
ILF left	0.4815450	0.4919865	0.5093540	20.725	<0.001*	<0.001	0.022	0.169	(A=D)<C
ILF right	0.467203	0.483447	0.485701	20.38	<0.001*	<0.001	0.848	0.001	A<(D=C)
UF left	0.4452510	0.4483685	0.4623040	7.1919	0.027	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
UF right	0.4142090	0.4291455	0.4347800	6.5562	0.038	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mean diffusivity
AF left	0.0008150	0.0007785	0.0007665	31.788	<0.001*	<0.001	0.057	0.004	A>(D=C)
AF right	0.0008320	0.0008240	0.0008125	8.8993	0.012*	0.008	0.307	0.308	A>C; D=C; A=D
IFOF left	0.0008680	0.0008485	0.0008200	23.601	<0.001*	<0.001	0.020	0.092	(A=D)>C
IFOF right	0.0008900	0.0008655	0.0008580	17.378	<0.001*	<0.001	0.295	0.028	A>(D=C)
ILF left	0.0009090	0.0008765	0.0008635	20.545	<0.001*	<0.001	0.096	0.045	A>(D=C)
ILF right	0.0009190	0.0008935	0.0008810	13.227	0.001*	<0.001	0.340	0.081	A>C; D=C; A=D
UF left	0.000870	0.000851	0.000829	17.475	<0.001*	<0.001	0.017	0.388	(A=D)>C
UF right	0.000902	0.000888	0.000856	21.924	<0.001*	<0.001	0.029	0.098	(A=D)>C
Volumes
AF left	8.880	8.328	7.372	11.332	0.003*	0.002	0.349	0.136	A>C; D=C; A=D
AF right	7.712	6.788	6.032	12.585	0.002*	0.002	0.616	0.038	A>(D=C)
IFOF left	8.944	9.716	9.432	1.412	0.493	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
IFOF right	10.080	11.940	11.708	8.184	0.017*	0.039	0.997	0.034	A<(D=C)
ILF left	7.376	7.812	7.872	1.4883	0.475	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ILF right	7.28	10.12	9.00	7.6993	0.021	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
UF left	7.632	7.832	7.664	0.92854	0.629	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
UF right	7.52	7.58	6.88	9.8081	0.007*	0.284	0.005	0.218	A=C; D>C; A=D

Note: *Indicates values that survive Tukey correction for multiple comparisons (P<0.01797).

Abbreviations: A, autism spectrum disorders; D, developmental dysphasia; C, healthy controls; AF, arcuate fasciculus; IFOF, inferior frontal occipital fasciculus; ILF, inferior longitudinal fasciculus; UF, uncinate fasciculus; n/a, not applicable.

Figure 1 Tract-Based spatial statistics for the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Voxels without differences between the two groups are in green. Voxels with the most significant differences between the two groups are coded using a red-to-yellow color map.

Abbreviations: FA, fractional anisotropy; MD, mean diffusivity; A, autism spectrum disorders; D, developmental dysphasia; C, healthy controls.