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Abstract #2528

A 1H-MRS Study of the Auditory Cortex in Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Mark Steven Brown1, Katie Youngpeter2, Debra Singel3, Susan Hepburn2, Don C. Rojas2

1Radiology, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, United States; 2Psychiatry, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, United States; 3Brain Imaging Center, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, United States


1H-MRS of the left and right auditory cortex, centered around Heschl's gyrus, was performed on 11 subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 10 age matched controls. Metabolite concentrations were compared to a continuous measure of ASD symptom severity, the Autism Spectrum Quotient. Glutamate (Glu) and n-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) were found to be greater on the left side in the ASD group then in the control group, with no differences found on the right side. The left side Glu was also inversely correlated with the communication subtest of the Autism Spectrum Quotient.