Brain Imaging Links Language Delay to Chromosomal Deletion in Children

Children born with a DNA abnormality on chromosome 16, already linked to neurodevelopmental problems, show measurable delays in processing sound and language, according to a research team of radiologists and psychologists at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Autism Research. By strengthening the case that the deleted gene disrupts a key biological pathway, the research may lay the foundation for future medical treatments for specific subtypes of autism, along with cognitive and language disabilities. During the study, researchers examined children with copy number variants — either deletions or disruptions of DNA — at the genetic site 16p11.2. Previously, research has shown that this location on chromosome 16 was associated with a subset of autism spectrum disorder, with language impairments and developmental delays. Researchers used magnetoencephalography (MEG), which detects magnetic fields in the brain. As each child heard a series of tones, the MEG machine analyzed changing magnetic fields in the child’s brain, measuring an auditory processing delay called the M100 response latency. In children with the deletion, the researchers found a significant delay — 23 milliseconds — a number that researchers called “stunningly high,” compared to the healthy children. There was no such delay among children with the duplication, who actually had a non-significant tendency to process sounds faster than the control subjects. To read more about this study, click here.