Morphological Features of Language Regions in Individuals with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

Banu Ahtam; Hyuk Jin Yun; Rutvi Vyas; Rudolph Pienaar; Josephine H Wilson; Caroline P Goswami; Laura F Berto; Simon K Warfield; Mustafa Sahin; P Ellen Grant; Jurriaan M Peters; Kiho Im

doi:10.1007/s10803-023-06004-8

Morphological Features of Language Regions in Individuals with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

J Autism Dev Disord. 2023 May 24. doi: 10.1007/s10803-023-06004-8. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Banu Ahtam^{1

2}, Hyuk Jin Yun^{3

4}, Rutvi Vyas^{3

4}, Rudolph Pienaar^{3

4}, Josephine H Wilson^{3

4}, Caroline P Goswami^{3

4}, Laura F Berto^{3

4}, Simon K Warfield⁵, Mustafa Sahin^{6

7}, P Ellen Grant^{3

4

8}, Jurriaan M Peters⁹, Kiho Im^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. banu.ahtam@childrens.harvard.edu.
² Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. banu.ahtam@childrens.harvard.edu.
³ Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁴ Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁶ Rosamund Stone Zander Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁷ F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁸ Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁹ Division of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.

PMID: 37222965
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-06004-8

Abstract

A significant number of individuals with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) exhibit language difficulties. Here, we examined the language-related brain morphometry in 59 participants (7 participants with TSC and comorbid autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (TSC + ASD), 13 with TSC but no ASD (TSC-ASD), 10 with ASD-only (ASD), and 29 typically developing (TD) controls). A hemispheric asymmetry was noted in surface area and gray matter volume of several cortical language areas in TD, ASD, and TSC-ASD groups, but not in TSC + ASD group. TSC + ASD group demonstrated increased cortical thickness and curvature values in multiple language regions for both hemispheres, compared to other groups. After controlling for tuber load in the TSC groups, within-group differences stayed the same but the differences between TSC-ASD and TSC + ASD were no longer statistically significant. These preliminary findings suggest that comorbid ASD in TSC as well as tuber load in TSC is associated with changes in the morphometry of language regions. Future studies with larger sample sizes will be needed to confirm these findings.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Brain morphology; Language; Structural MRI; Tuberous sclerosis complex.

Abstract

Grants and funding