An MRI investigation of brain development in young children with autism within the Autism Birth Cohort Study

Autism is a chronic, severe disorder of brain development and function, manifesting in the first years of life by impaired language, social reciprocity, and activity. In the current study, 200 children with autism and 100 control children will be examined with brain MRI at the age of 3-4 years. All children will be recruited from the Autism Birth Cohort Study which involves screening of children from National Mor-Barn study, and a detailed clinical examination of cases and controls. MR-scanning of childr en will primarily be done unsedated during natural sleep in the evenings, a procedure successfully piloted at HUS. All children will be scanned at HUS on a 3T GE MR-scanner. We will acquire T1 and T2 weighted, diffusion tensor images and MR-spectroscopy. Image analyses will take place both at HUS and at Columbia. Morphometry and other analyses will focus on brain regions and networks suspected to be affected in autism. Strengths of the study include: an unique, large and population based sample, minimizin g problems of ascertainment bias that plague clinically based samples; scanning at an early age and stage of disease, to avoid the confounds of chronic illness, compensatory responses, and medication effects; state-of-the-art imaging technology and method s; and collaboration between established international centres.