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Abstract #4237

Exploratory Data Analysis of Tractographic Measures: Study of the Cingulum in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Lucia Billeci1,2, Sara Calderoni2, Laura Biagi2, Filippo Muratori3, Marco Catani4, Michela Tosetti2

1Interdepartmental Research Center "E.Piaggio", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 2MR Laboratory, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy; 3Division of Child Neuropsychiatry, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy; 4NatBrainLab, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom


In this study a tractographic analysis of the cingulm in Autism Spectrum Disorders was performed. Characteristic measures of the cingulum reconstructed from DTI data of ASDs and controls were analyzed by the techniques of exploratory data analysis (EDA). The Wilcoxon test revealed a significant increase in the length of streamlines bilaterally in ASD group than in controls. The methods of EDA revealed that the length measures followed a log-normal probability distribution. The use of probability distribution allow to increase the robustness of statistics, to find outliers and to provide a basis for further data collection experiments.