A Control Study Of Brain Volume In Children With Pervasive Developmental Disorder Between2and3Years Old

[Objective]To assess the volume differences of the total brain, cerebral grey and white matter between children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and developmental delay (DD) of2-3years old; to investigate the correlation between the volume of total brain, cerebral grey and white matter and severity of symptoms in children with PDD[Methods]Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in conjunction with statistical parametric mapping was applied to the structural magnetic resonance images of50children with PDD and36children with DD. Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales-Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP) and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) was applied to assess the severity of symptoms in children with PDD, and the correlation research was conducted with scores of those two tools and volume of total brain, cerebral grey and white matter.[Results](1) Compared with children with DD, the volume of total brain, total gray matter and total white matter of children with PDD between2-3years old was significantly lager (P<0.05); When the intellectual quality was controlled, the difference was still existed (P<0.05), but when the age was controlled, there was no significant difference (P<0.05) between the volume of children with PDD and DD except the total brain (P<0.05); There was no significant difference in the ratio of gray and white matter between children with PDD and DD (P<0.05).(2) No significant correlation shows between the scores of subscales in CSBS-DP and the volume of total brain, white matter and gray matter in children with PDD (P<0.05); Volume of gray matter in children with PDD was positively correlated to the scores of stereotype behavior subscale in ADI-R (P<0.05).(3) Compared to children with DD, significant enlargement of children with PDD was present in medi-temporal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus in grey matter while diminution in right precentral gyrus and left parietal gyrus (P<0.001); Significant enlargement also detected in medi-frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, left mid-temporal gyrus, right mid-frontal gyrus, right transverse temporal gyrus (P<0.001).[Conclusion]The findings indicate (1) structural grey and white matter were significantly abnormal, and the deficits were widespread in brain regions.(2) There was a significantly positively correlation between abnormal volume of gray matter and severity of stereotype behavior in children with PDD between2and3years old.