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GABA estimation in the brains of children on the autism spectrum: Measurement precision and regional cortical variation

1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) and spectral editing methods, such as MEGA-PRESS, allow researchers to investigate metabolite and neurotransmitter concentrations in-vivo. Here we address the utilization of 1H MRS for the investigation of GABA concentrations in the ASD brain, in three loc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2014-02, Vol.86, p.1-9
Main Authors: Gaetz, W., Bloy, L., Wang, D.J., Port, R.G., Blaskey, L., Levy, S.E., Roberts, T.P.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) and spectral editing methods, such as MEGA-PRESS, allow researchers to investigate metabolite and neurotransmitter concentrations in-vivo. Here we address the utilization of 1H MRS for the investigation of GABA concentrations in the ASD brain, in three locations; motor, visual and auditory areas. An initial repeatability study (5 subjects, 5 repeated measures separated by ~5days on average) indicated no significant effect of reference metabolite choice on GABA quantitation (p>0.6). Coefficients of variation for GABA+/NAA, GABA+/Cr and GABA+/Glx were all of the order of 9–11%. Based on these findings, we investigated creatine-normalized GABA+ ratios (GABA+/Cr) in a group of (N=17) children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and (N=17) typically developing children (TD) for Motor, Auditory and Visual regions of interest (ROIs). Linear regression analysis of gray matter (GM) volume changes (known to occur with development) revealed a significant decrease of GM volume with Age for Motor (F(1,30)=17.92; p
ISSN:1053-8119
1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.05.068