2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Functional and anatomical connectivity study using fMRI and DTI
| Project/Area Number |
21613002
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Non-invasive neuroimaging
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| Research Institution | Nagoya University |
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Principal Investigator |
IIDAKA Tetsuya 名古屋大学, 大学院・医学系研究科, 准教授 (70324366)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
NAKAI Toshiharu 国立長寿医療センター, 長寿医療工学研究部, 室長 (30344170)
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| Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha) |
SADATO Norihiro 生理学研究所, 心理生理学研究部門, 教授 (00273003)
NIHASHI Takashi 名古屋大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (00426496)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2009 – 2011
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| Keywords | fMRI / DTI / 白質 / 線維連絡 / 高次脳機能 / 社会脳 / 自閉症 |
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| Research Abstract |
Functional and structural investigations of neuroanatomical substrates that correlate with autistic tendency in healthy human subjects are critical for understanding autism-spectrum disorder. To accomplish this, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) in combination with diffusion tensor imaging(DTI) in 30 healthy young subjects. The subjects were evaluated using the Autistic-Spectrum Quotient(AQ), which was designed to measure autistic traits in both healthy and autistic subjects. Face specific brain activation in the superior temporal sulcus(STS) and amygdala(AMG) was identified using fMRI and passive viewing of faces. In addition, probabilistic tractography performed in each subject by using DTI showed a white matter pathway between the STS and AMG regions. The volume of connectivity between these regions correlated positively with the total AQ score(Spearman's rho=0. 38, p<0. 05). These results suggest that healthy subjects with high autistic traits may show an increase in the white matter pathway that connects key regions involved in face processing.
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