Table 1 The anatomical definition and functions of white matter tracts frequently involved in autism
White matter tracts | Category | Connection | Function related to autism |
|---|---|---|---|
ATR | Projection fiber | Dorsomedial thalamic nucleus to prefrontal cortex through the anterior limb of internal capsule | Executive function and planning complex behaviors |
Corpus callosum | Commissural fiber | The cortices of the two cerebral hemispheres | Cognitive and social function |
Cingulum | Long-range associative fiber | Cingulate gyrus to the anterior thalamic nuclei | Visuospatial processing and memory access |
IFOF | Long-range associative fiber | Occipital cortex, temporo-basal areas, and superior parietal lobe to the frontal lobe | Semantic processing |
ILF | Long-range associative fiber | Occipital lobe to the anterior temporal lobe | Face and emotion recognition |
SLF | Long-range associative fiber | Frontal lobe to parietal lobe and partially to temporal lobe | Visuospatial attention, language auditory comprehension, articulatory processing, reading, and lexical access |
UF | Long-range associative fiber | Lateral orbitofrontal cortex and Broadmann area 10 to anterior temporal lobes | Episodic memory, language, and social emotional processing |