This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The overall aim of the proposed research project is to add unique information to the body of knowledge of altered brain morphology associated with autism. This goal is approached in two ways: First we will assess the relation between brain morphology and autism using the method of structural neuroimaging to examine siblings discordant for autism. The hypothesis underlying this study is that autism is a neurobiological condition with a strong genetic component. By studying siblings discordant for autism we have the potential to gain greater experimental control of those genetic and environmental factors that influence brain development. We hypothesize that autistic subjects will demonstrate morphological variations that distinguish them from their first degree relatives. We will test this hypothesis by comparing same gender discordant siblings (autistic probands and their unaffected siblings) to sets of normal control siblings matched for age and gender (normal control subjects and their normal siblings). Measures of brain regions or structures to be examined in this study include total brain volume, size of the corpus callosum (anterior, body and posterior) and the size of the cerebellar vermis lobules I - V and VI - VII. These structures are chosen because structural abnormalities in autism have been reported by other investigators. Second, we will assess the relation between the morphology of specific brain regions and the behavioral and cognitive features of autistic subjects. By identifying associations between brain morphology and specific behaviors and cognition there is the potential to clarify biologically based subtypes of autism.
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