Managing aggression in autism spectrum disorder: A cerebellar neuroscience approach

Abstract

Background: Understanding the neurological processes underpinning the elevated aggression rate in autism spectrum disorder may be the key to more effective treatment. Previous research implicates the cerebellum in aggression, specifically lobules right Crus I and II and VIIIA/B. Objective: This study investigated the relationship between cerebellar grey matter volumes and aggression in children with ASD and neurotypical children, and verbal IQ as a possible moderator. Methods: Volumetric data from 200 3T MRI scans of children with ASD and neurotypical children, ages 8-13, was used. The aggression measures were extracted from the Child Behavior Checklist. Results: The stepwise regression analysis showed a significant relationship between the grey matter volume of right lobule VIIIA and aggression scores in children with ASD. Verbal IQ had no moderation effect. Discussion: Aggression in children with ASD may stem from impaired somatosensory processing since overstimulation can lead to aggression. This may explain the implication of right lobule VIIIA as it plays a role in sensorimotor processing. The effect was found in the right posterior area of the cerebellum, which corroborates the contralateral association with the frontal cortex, where aggression correlates with relatively higher activity in the left hemisphere. Conclusion: This explorative study yielded many leads for future research on the implication of the right posterior cerebellum in aggression, its treatment in children with ASD, and the role of impaired somatosensory processing.