Uncinate fasiculus, an important tract with the greatest concentration of progesterone receptors, show greater injury in males than females after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
ASD was also associated with underdevelopment of white matter in the left
uncinate bundle, which plays a significant role in face recognition and emotional processing.
The DTI scans of the mTBI patients revealed abnormalities within
the uncinate fasciculi (UF), a white matter tract that connects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.
(a) Axial and (b) coronal images show regions of decreased fractional anisotropy in male patients with mTBI relative to female mTBI patients, involving
the uncinate fasiculus (red) bilaterally.
«Lower FA values in
the uncinate fasciculi could offer a metric for evaluating the severity of mild traumatic brain injuries and predicting clinical outcome.
(An unusually developed bundle of brain tissue called
the uncinate fasciculus looks like it may be involved in the condition.)
When compared to the control group, type 2 patients showed decreased integrity in the white matter of two different areas in the brain — the cingulum bundle, which is a fiber tract that connects regions in the default - mode network, and
the uncinate fasciculus, which connects regions important for executive function and memory.
In such cases it is possible that impaired fibre connections (e.g. reduced functional anisotropy in
the uncinate fasciculus) to and from this area cause the neuronal differences observed [151].
For example,
the uncinate fasciculus is a white - matter tract connecting the amygdala and neighbouring anterior temporal lobe with the orbitofrontal cortex and it thus may be involved in facilitating empathy, emotion regulation and socio - cognitive processes [150].
In line with evidence in AB [151] significant differences in the fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of
the uncinate fasciculus have been demonstrated in adolescents with conduct disorder [29,39] as well as in adult psychopathy [144,152].