Original Article The Effect of Diagnosis, Age, and Symptom Severity on Cortical Surface Area in the Cingulate Cortex and Insula in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Functional activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula has been reported to be abnormal during social tasks in autism spectrum disorders. However, few studies have examined surfacemorphometry in these regions and how this may be related to autism spectrum disorder symptomatology. In this study, 27 individuals with autism spectrum disorders and 25 controls between the ages of 7 to 39 years underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Our primary analysis examined differences in surface area in the cingulate and insula, between individualswith andwithout autism spectrumdisorders, aswell as age-related changes and associationswith social impairments. Surface area in the right cingulate was significantly different between groups and decreased more rapidly with age in autism spectrum disorder participants. In addition, greater surface area in the insula and isthmuswas associated with poorer social behaviors. Results sug-gest atypical surfacemorphometry in brain regions involved in social function,which appeared tobe related topoorer social ability scores