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. 2007 Jan 30;31(1):41-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.06.007. Epub 2006 Jul 24.

Volumetric alterations of the orbitofrontal cortex in autism

Ragy R Girgis  1 , Nancy J Minshew, Nadine M Melhem, Jeffrey J Nutche, Matcheri S Keshavan, Antonio Y Hardan
Affiliations

Volumetric alterations of the orbitofrontal cortex in autism

Ragy R Girgis et al. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Recent evidence has implicated the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in the pathophysiology of social deficits in autism. An MRI-based morphometric study of the OFC was conducted involving 11 children with autism (age range 8.1-12.7 years) and 18 healthy, age-matched controls (age range 8.9-12.8 years). Decreased grey matter volume in the right lateral OFC in the patient group was found, and correlations were observed between social deficits and white, but not grey, matter structures of the OFC. These findings support the role of OFC in autism and warrant further investigations of this structure using structural and functional methodologies.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A tracing of the orbitofrontal cortex in the coronal plane.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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