There is emerging evidence that the neuroanatomy of autism forms a spectrum which extends into the general population. However, whilst several studies have identified cortical morphology correlates of autistic traits, it is not established whether morphological differences are present in the subcortical structures of the brain. Additionally, it is not clear to what extent previously reported structural associations may be confounded by co-occurring psychopathology. To address these questions, we utilised neuroimaging data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study to assess whether a measure of autistic traits was associated with differences in child subcortical morphology, and if any observed differences persisted after adjustment for child internalising and externalising symptoms. Our analyses included data from 7005 children aged 9–10 years (female: 47.19%) participating in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Autistic traits were assessed using scores from the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Volumes of subcortical regions of interest were derived from structural magnetic resonance imaging data. Overall, we did not find strong evidence for an association of autistic traits with differences in subcortical morphology in this sample of school-aged children. Whilst lower absolute volumes of the nucleus accumbens and putamen were associated with higher scores of autistic traits, these differences did not persist once a global measure of brain size was accounted for. It is important to note that autistic traits were assessed using the SRS, of which higher scores are associated with general behavioural problems, and therefore may not be wholly indicative of autism-specific symptoms. In addition, individuals with a moderate or severe autism diagnosis were excluded from the ABCD study, and thus, the average level of autistic traits will be lower than in the general population which may bias findings towards the null. These findings from our well-powered study suggest that other metrics of brain morphology, such as cortical morphology or shape-based phenotypes, may be stronger candidates to prioritise when attempting to identify robust neuromarkers of autistic traits.

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学龄儿童自闭症特征的皮层下相关性：基于人群的神经影像学研究

越来越多的证据表明，自闭症的神经解剖学形成了一个延伸到普通人群的范围。然而，虽然一些研究已经确定了自闭症特征的皮层形态相关性，但尚未确定大脑皮层下结构是否存在形态差异。此外，尚不清楚先前报告的结构关联在多大程度上可能被同时发生的精神病理学所混淆。为了解决这些问题，我们利用青少年大脑认知发展研究的神经影像学数据来评估自闭症特征的测量是否与儿童皮层下形态的差异相关，以及在调整儿童内化和外化症状后观察到的差异是否仍然存在。我们的分析包括来自参与青少年大脑认知发展研究的 7005 名 9-10 岁儿童（女性：47.19%）的数据。使用社会反应量表 (SRS) 的分数评估自闭症特征。感兴趣的皮层下区域的体积来自结构磁共振成像数据。总的来说，在这个学龄儿童样本中，我们没有发现自闭症特征与皮层下形态差异相关的有力证据。虽然伏隔核和壳核的绝对体积较低与自闭症特征得分较高有关，但一旦考虑到大脑大小的全球测量值，这些差异就不会持续存在。值得注意的是，自闭症特征是使用 SRS 评估的，其中较高的分数与一般行为问题相关，因此可能不能完全指示自闭症特异性症状。此外，诊断为中度或重度自闭症的个体被排除在 ABCD 研究之外，因此，自闭症特征的平均水平将低于一般人群，这可能会使结果偏向零。我们强有力的研究的这些发现表明，在尝试识别自闭症特征的强大神经标志物时，大脑形态学的其他指标（例如皮质形态学或基于形状的表型）可能更适合优先考虑。自闭症特征的平均水平将低于一般人群，这可能会使调查结果偏向零。我们强有力的研究的这些发现表明，在尝试识别自闭症特征的强大神经标志物时，大脑形态学的其他指标（例如皮质形态学或基于形状的表型）可能更适合优先考虑。自闭症特征的平均水平将低于一般人群，这可能会使调查结果偏向零。我们强有力的研究的这些发现表明，在尝试识别自闭症特征的强大神经标志物时，大脑形态学的其他指标（例如皮质形态学或基于形状的表型）可能更适合优先考虑。