1H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Markers of Cognitive and Language Ability in Clinical Subtypes of Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study assessed metabolic functioning of regional brain areas to address whether there is a neurometabolic profile reflecting the underlying neuropathology in individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and if varied profiles correlate with the clinical subtypes. Thirteen children (7-16 years) with autism spectrum disorders and 8 typically developing children were compared on 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy data collected from hippocampus-amygdala and cerebellar regions. The autism spectrum disorder group had significantly lower N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratios bilaterally in the hippocampus-amygdala but not cerebellum, whereas myo-inositol/creatine was significantly increased in all measured regions. Choline/creatine was also significantly elevated in the left hippocampus-amygdala and cerebellar regions of children with autism spectrum disorder. Comparisons within the autism spectrum disorder group when clinically subdivided by history of speech delay revealed significant metabolic ratio differe...