In the last two decades neurological research has significantly increased knowledge on the neuroanatomic bases of autism. Several autopsy and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have reported central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities which may underlie the social, language and cognitive dysfunction typical of the autistic disorder.
Despite the wealth of evidence that the “autistic brain” is different from normal in a number of structures, the relationship between the severity of the developmental impairment in autism and the degree of the brain abnormality remains unknown.
The aim of the present study is to correlate the areas of some brain regions, as calculated on the basis of MRI morphometry, with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and with the Psychoeducational Profile Revised (PEP-R) scores in a group of 22 autistic mentally retarded male subjects.
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