White matter microstructure of language pathways in non-verbal autism: insights from diffusion tensor imaging and myelin water imaging

These findings align with prior evidence linking myelin abnormalities to ASD. Notably, microstructural differences were not restricted to language-related tracts but also extended to the CST, suggesting a more extensive WM disruption in nvASD. The absence of significant correlations between MRI-derived metrics and clinical measures highlights the complexity of the neurobiological alterations in nvASD. As the observed lateralization patterns may reflect, in part, the influence of methodological variability in tract definition, segmentation strategy, and tractography method, these results should be interpreted with caution. Future studies with larger cohorts and longitudinal designs are required to clarify the developmental trajectory of these microstructural abnormalities, their relationship with language impairment severity, and their potential role as biomarkers for nvASD.