Dataset Information

Sex differences in brain structure: a twin study on restricted and repetitive behaviors in twin pairs with and without autism.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Females with autism spectrum disorder have been reported to exhibit fewer and less severe restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests compared to males. This difference might indicate sex-specific alterations of brain networks involved in autism symptom domains, especially within cortico-striatal and sensory integration networks. This study used a well-controlled twin design to examine sex differences in brain anatomy in relation to repetitive behaviors.

Methods

In 75 twin pairs (n = 150, 62 females, 88 males) enriched for autism spectrum disorder (n = 32), and other neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 32), we explored the association of restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests-operationalized by the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (C domain) and the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (Restricted Interests and Repetitive Behavior subscale)-with cortical volume, surface area and thickness of neocortical, sub-cortical, and cerebellar networks.

Results

Co-twin control analyses revealed within-pair associations between RRBI symptoms and increased thickness of the right intraparietal sulcus and reduced volume of the right orbital gyrus in females only, even though the mean number of RRBIs did not differ between the sexes. In a sub-sample of ASD-discordant pairs, increased thickness in association with RRBIs was found exclusively in females in the orbitofrontal regions, superior frontal gyrus, and intraparietal sulcus, while in males RRBIs tended to be associated with increased volume of the bilateral pallidum.

Limitations

However, due to a small sample size and the small difference in RRBI symptoms within pairs, the results of this exploratory study need to be interpreted with caution.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that structural alterations of fronto-parietal networks in association with RRBIs are found mostly in females, while striatal networks are more affected in males. These results endorse the importance of investigating sex differences in the neurobiology of autism symptoms, and indicate different etiological pathways underlying restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests in females and males.

SUBMITTER: Van't Westeinde A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6937723 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Sex differences in brain structure: a twin study on restricted and repetitive behaviors in twin pairs with and without autism.

Van't Westeinde Annelies A Cauvet Élodie É Toro Roberto R Kuja-Halkola Ralf R Neufeld Janina J Mevel Katell K Bölte Sven S

Molecular autism 20191231 1

<h4>Background</h4>Females with autism spectrum disorder have been reported to exhibit fewer and less severe restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests compared to males. This difference might indicate sex-specific alterations of brain networks involved in autism symptom domains, especially within cortico-striatal and sensory integration networks. This study used a well-controlled twin design to examine sex differences in brain anatomy in relation to repetitive behaviors.<h4>Methods</h4>I ...[more]

PMID: 31893022

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Project description:BackgroundRestricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and one of the earliest behavioral signs of ASD. However, RRBs are also present in typically developing (TD) infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Past work suggests that examining change in these behaviors over time is essential to distinguish between normative manifestations of these behaviors and behaviors that denote risk for a neurodevelopmental disorder. One challenge in examining changes in these behaviors over time is that most measures of RRBs have not established longitudinal measurement invariance. The aims of this study were to (1) establish measurement invariance in the Repetitive Behavior Scales for Early Childhood (RBS-EC), a parent-report questionnaire of RRBs, and (2) model developmental change in RRBs from 8 to 36 months.MethodsWe collected RBS-EC responses from parents of TD infants (n = 180) from 8 to 36 months (n = 606 responses, with participants contributing an average of 3-time points). We leverage a novel methodological approach to measurement invariance testing (Bauer, Psychological Models, 22(3), 507-526, 2017), moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA), to determine whether the RBS-EC was invariant across age and sex. We then generated adjusted factor score estimates for each subscale of the RBS-EC (repetitive motor, self-directed, and higher-order behaviors), and used linear mixed effects models to estimate between- and within-person changes in the RBS-EC over time.ResultsThe RBS-EC showed some non-invariance as a function of age. We were able to adjust for this non-invariance in order to more accurately model changes in the RBS-EC over time. Repetitive motor and self-directed behaviors showed a linear decline from 8 to 36 months, while higher-order behaviors showed a quadratic trajectory such that they began to decline later in development at around 18 months. Using adjusted factor scores as opposed to unadjusted raw mean scores provided a number of benefits, including increased within-person variability and precision.ConclusionsThe RBS-EC is sensitive enough to measure the presence of RRBs in a TD sample, as well as their decline with age. Using factor score estimates of each subscale adjusted for non-invariance allowed us to more precisely estimate change in these behaviors over time.

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Dataset Information

Sex differences in brain structure: a twin study on restricted and repetitive behaviors in twin pairs with and without autism.

Background

Methods

Results

Limitations

Conclusions

Publications

Sex differences in brain structure: a twin study on restricted and repetitive behaviors in twin pairs with and without autism.

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