Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33976262›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2021

Decreased grey matter volumes in unaffected mothers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder reflect the broader autism endophenotype.

Kyung-Min An, Takashi Ikeda, Tetsu Hirosawa, Ken Yaoi, Yuko Yoshimura, Chiaki Hasegawa, Sanae Tanaka, Daisuke N Saito, Mitsuru Kikuchi

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 34% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Sensorimotor Behavior in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Unaffected Biological Parents.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Molecular Dysregulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of personalized medicine · 2021
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Kyung-Min AnResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan. eirene.akmin@gmail.com.
Takashi IkedaResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Tetsu HirosawaResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Ken YaoiResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Yuko YoshimuraResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Chiaki HasegawaResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Sanae TanakaResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Daisuke N SaitoResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan. sdaisuke@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
Mitsuru KikuchiResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Hamamatsu University School of Medicine · JPChiba University · JPUniversity of Fukui · JPKanazawa University · JPOsaka University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with an early onset and a strong genetic origin. Unaffected relatives may present similar but subthreshold characteristics of ASD. This broader autism phenotype is especially prevalent in the parents of individuals with ASD, suggesting that it has heritable factors. Although previous studies have demonstrated brain morphometry differences in ASD, they are poorly understood in parents of individuals with ASD. Here, we estimated grey matter volume in 45 mothers of children with ASD (mASD) and 46 age-, sex-, and handedness-matched controls using whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analysis. The mASD group had smaller grey matter volume in the right middle temporal gyrus, temporoparietal junction, cerebellum, and parahippocampal gyrus compared with the control group. Furthermore, we analysed the correlations of these brain volumes with ASD behavioural characteristics using autism spectrum quotient (AQ) and systemizing quotient (SQ) scores, which measure general autistic traits and the drive to systemize. Smaller volumes in the middle temporal gyrus and temporoparietal junction correlated with higher SQ scores, and smaller volumes in the cerebellum and parahippocampal gyrus correlated with higher AQ scores. Our findings suggest that atypical grey matter volumes in mASD may represent one of the neurostructural endophenotypes of ASD.

Indexed as

EndophenotypesMothersAdultAutism Spectrum DisorderCase-Control StudiesFemaleGray MatterHumansMagnetic Resonance Imaging

Identifiers

PMID33976262
PMCPMC8113597
OpenAlexW3163750092

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.