Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 5-14-2023

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Toshikazu Ikuta

Second Advisor

Hyejin Park

Third Advisor

Alberto Jose Del Arco Gonzalez

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have abnormal responses and hypersensitivity to sounds (Haesen et al., 2011). ASD is also related to inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors (Bradley & Isaacs, 2006). One study by Stansberry et al. (2022) found that a higher fractional anisotropy (FA) of interhemispheric auditory white matter is associated with higher impulsivity. Our study examined the interhemispheric auditory tract (IAT) to determine whether it is impacted by ASD. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange utilizing two datasets so that we could replicate primary findings. We first isolated the IAT and examined Fractional Anisotropy, Axial Diffusivity, Radial Diffusivity (RD), and Mean Diffusivity within the IAT. The ASD group was found to have lower FA and a higher RD of the IAT than the control group. It is suggested that the left and right auditory cortices may communicate less in the ASD population than the others.

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Available for download on Wednesday, April 30, 2025

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