Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33388135›Full record

ArticleBiological psychiatry2021

Longitudinal Evaluation of Cerebral Growth Across Childhood in Boys and Girls With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Joshua K Lee, Derek S Andrews, Sally Ozonoff, Marjorie Solomon, Sally Rogers, David G Amaral, Christine Wu Nordahl

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biological psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
40citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

40 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  10. mAutism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Joshua K LeeMIND Institute, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California.
Derek S AndrewsMIND Institute, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California.
Sally OzonoffMIND Institute, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California.
Marjorie SolomonMIND Institute, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California.
Sally RogersMIND Institute, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California.
David G AmaralMIND Institute, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California. Electronic address: dgamaral@ucdavis.edu.
Christine Wu NordahlMIND Institute, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California. Electronic address: cnordahl@ucdavis.edu.
University of California, Davis · US

Funding

Specifying and Treating the Anxiety Phenotype in Autism Spectrum DisorderP50HD093079 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI YOUNG, GREGORY S · 2017 to 2021
$11.4M
Research Project: Pathologic Significance of Maternal AutoantibodiesP50HD103526 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI JUDY A. VAN DE WATER · 2020 to 2026
$9.7M
Rodent Behavior CoreU54HD079125 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI ABBEDUTO, LEONARD J. · 2013 to 2019
$8.5M
Interdisciplinary Training for Autism Researchers(RMI)T32MH073124 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS · PI Stephen Charles Noctor, Christine Wu Nordahl · 2004 to 2026
$6.8M
Predictors of Cognitive Development in Autism Spectrum DisorderR01MH103284 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI SOLOMON, MARJORIE · 2014 to 2024
$6.3M
Neural Phenotypes of Females with Autism Spectrum DisorderR01MH104438 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI NORDAHL, CHRISTINE WU · 2014 to 2018
$3.5M
Neurophenotypic Trajectories and Behavioral Outcomes in Autism Spectrum DisorderR01MH103371 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI AMARAL, DAVID G · 2015 to 2019
$3.4M
Neurodevelopment of cognitive control in autism: adolescence to young adulthoodR01MH106518 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI SOLOMON, MARJORIE · 2016 to 2020
$3.1M
NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD093079NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD103526NICHD NIH HHS U54 HD079125NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH103284NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH103371NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH104438NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH106518NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH073124
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCerebral overgrowth is frequently reported in children but not in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This suggests that early cerebral overgrowth is followed by normalization of cerebral volumes. However, this notion is predicated on cross-sectional research that is vulnerable to sampling bias. For example, autistic individuals with disproportionate megalencephaly, a subgroup with higher rates of intellectual disability and larger cerebral volumes, may be underrepresented in studies of adolescents and adults. Furthermore, extant studies have cohorts that are predominately male, thus limiting knowledge of cerebral growth in females with ASD.

methodsGrowth of total cerebral volume, gray matter (GM) volume, and white matter volume as well as proportion of GM to total cerebral volume were examined in a longitudinal sample comprising 273 boys (199 with ASD) scanned at up to four time points (mean ages = 38, 50, 64, and 137 months, respectively) and 156 girls (95 with ASD) scanned at up to three time points (mean ages = 39, 53, and 65 months, respectively) using mixed-effects modeling.

resultsIn boys with ASD, cerebral overgrowth in the ASD with disproportionate megalencephaly subgroup was predominately driven by increases in GM and persisted throughout childhood without evidence of volumetric regression or normalization. In girls with ASD, cerebral volumes were similar to those in typically developing girls, but growth trajectories of GM and white matter were slower throughout early childhood. The proportion of GM to total cerebral volume declined with age at a slower rate in autistic boys and girls relative to typically developing control subjects.

conclusionsLongitudinal evidence does not support the notion that early brain overgrowth is followed by volumetric regression, at least from early to late childhood.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAdolescentAdultBrainChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGray MatterHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleAutism spectrum disorderBrainDevelopmentDisproportionate megalencephaly

Identifiers

PMID33388135
PMCPMC8089123
OpenAlexW3095186144

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.