AN MRT STUDY OF THE CORPUS-CALLOSUM IN AUTISM

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the size of subreg ions of the corpus callosum in autistic individuals. Method: The areas of three subregions (anterior, body, and posterior) of the corpus cal losum were examined on midsagittal magnetic resonance images of 35 aut istic subjects whose mean age was 18 years and 36 healthy comparison s ubjects matched on age and IQ. Results: After controlling for total br ain volume, gender, and performance IQ, the authors detected a signifi cantly smaller size of the body and posterior subregions of the corpus callosum in the autistic individuals. Conclusions: In the context of recent reports of increased brain size in autism, several possible mec hanisms are considered in exploring the significance of a smaller rela tive size of the corpus callosum in autism.