Canadian researchers reviewing brain MRI scans have found signs that autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) begin at a much younger age than obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in children.
Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto noted that the early onset of autism and ADHD comes at a time when a number of different white-matter tracts are going through rapid development. The findings, published online July 1 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, come from the evaluation of white matter in 200 children with autism, ADHD, or OCD, compared with children with no such affliction who served as healthy controls.
First author Dr. Stephanie Ameis said MRI scans showed impairments in white matter in the main tract connecting the right and left hemispheres of the brain in children with either autism, ADHD, or OCD. Subjects with autism and ADHD showed more severe impairments affecting more of the brain's white matter than those with OCD.
The study is part of an Ontario initiative examining various childhood brain-related disorders collectively to better understand their similarities and differences and develop treatments.
