Background: Are brain volumes of individuals with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) still enlarged in adolescence and adulthood, and if so, is this enlargement confined to the gray and/or the white matter and is it global or more prominent in specific brain regions.
Methods: Brain MRI scans were made of 21 adolescents with PDD and 21 closely matched controls.
Results: All brain volumes, except the white matter, were significantly larger in patients. After correction for brain volume, ventricular volumes remained significantly larger in patients.
Conclusions: Patients showed a proportional, global increase in gray matter and cerebellum volume, and a disproportional increase in ventricular volumes. Thus, at least in high-functioning patients with PDD, brain enlargement may still be present in adult life.