RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Abnormal Cortical Complexity and Thickness Profiles Mapped in Williams Syndrome
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 4146
OP 4158
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0165-05.2005
VO 25
IS 16
A1 Paul M. Thompson
A1 Agatha D. Lee
A1 Rebecca A. Dutton
A1 Jennifer A. Geaga
A1 Kiralee M. Hayashi
A1 Mark A. Eckert
A1 Ursula Bellugi
A1 Albert M. Galaburda
A1 Julie R. Korenberg
A1 Debra L. Mills
A1 Arthur W. Toga
A1 Allan L. Reiss
YR 2005
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/25/16/4146.abstract
AB We identified and mapped an anatomically localized failure of cortical maturation in Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic condition associated with deletion of ∼20 contiguous genes on chromosome 7. Detailed three-dimensional (3D) maps of cortical thickness, based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 164 brain hemispheres, identified a delimited zone of right hemisphere perisylvian cortex that was thicker in WS than in matched controls, despite pervasive gray and white matter deficits and reduced total cerebral volumes. 3D cortical surface models were extracted from 82 T1-weighted brain MRI scans (256 × 192 × 124 volumes) of 42 subjects with genetically confirmed WS (mean ± SD, 29.2 ± 9.0 years of age; 19 males, 23 females) and 40 age-matched healthy controls (27.5 ± 7.4 years of age; 16 males, 24 females). A cortical pattern-matching technique used 72 sulcal landmarks traced on each brain as anchors to align cortical thickness maps across subjects, build group average maps, and identify regions with altered cortical thickness in WS. Cortical models were remeshed in frequency space to compute their fractal dimension (surface complexity) for each hemisphere and lobe. Surface complexity was significantly increased in WS (p < 0.0015 and p < 0.0014 for left and right hemispheres, respectively) and correlated with temporoparietal gyrification differences, classified via Steinmetz criteria. In WS, cortical thickness was increased by 5-10% in a circumscribed right hemisphere perisylvian and inferior temporal zone (p < 0.002). Spatially extended cortical regions were identified with increased complexity and thickness; cortical thickness and complexity were also positively correlated in controls (p < 0.03). These findings visualize cortical zones with altered anatomy in WS, which merit additional study with techniques to assess function and connectivity.