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Brainstem White Matter Predicts Individual Differences in Manual Motor Difficulties and Symptom Severity in Autism

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Abstract

Mounting evidence suggests that poorer motor skills may be related to more severe autism symptoms. This study investigated if atypical white matter microstructure in the brain mediated the relationship between motor skills and ASD symptom severity. Sixty-seven males with ASD and 42 males with typical development (5–33 years old) completed a diffusion tensor imaging scan and measures of grip strength, finger tapping, and autism symptom severity. Within the ASD group, weaker grip strength predicted more severe autism symptoms. Fractional anisotropy of the brainstem’s corticospinal tract predicted both grip strength and autism symptom severity and mediated the relationship between the two. These findings suggest that brainstem white matter may contribute to autism symptoms and grip strength in ASD.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health [RO1 MH080826 to JEL, ALA, NL, EDB; RO1 MH084795 to JEL, NL], the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [T32 HD07489 to BGT, and P30 HD003352 to the Waisman Center], the Hartwell Foundation [to BGT], the Poelman Foundation [to EDB]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health & Development, or the National Institutes of Health. We thank Annahir Cariello, Celeste Knoles, Chad Ennis, Steven Hesse, Daniel Witt, Kristine McLaughlin, Emily Gerstein, and Joanna Mussey for their contributions to this project. We sincerely thank the children, adolescents, and adults with autism, the individuals with typical development, and all the families who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    Brittany G. Travers, Do P. M. Tromp, Nagesh Adluru, Dan Destiche, Danica Samsin, Andrew L. Alexander & Janet E. Lainhart

  2. Occupational Therapy Program, Department of Kinesiology, 2185 Medical Sciences Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Brittany G. Travers

  3. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Erin D. Bigler & Tyler C. Duffield

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, 501 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA

    Erin D. Bigler

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI, 53719, USA

    Do P. M. Tromp, Andrew L. Alexander & Janet E. Lainhart

  6. Department of Radiology, University of Utah, 30 North 1900 East #1A071, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Alyson Froehlich & Molly D. B. Prigge

  7. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard University, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Nicholas Lange

  8. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard University, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Nicholas Lange

  9. Neurostatistics Laboratory, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA

    Nicholas Lange

  10. Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Avenue, Room 1005, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    Andrew L. Alexander

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  1. Brittany G. Travers
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Correspondence to Brittany G. Travers.

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Travers, B.G., Bigler, E.D., Tromp, D.P.M. et al. Brainstem White Matter Predicts Individual Differences in Manual Motor Difficulties and Symptom Severity in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3030–3040 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2467-9

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