Men with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have subtle differences in a part of the brain crucial to developing language and social interaction skills. According to a new study, the findings could explain why symptoms persist into adulthood in some people with the disorder. People with ASD can have varying levels of impairment across three common areas. <br/><br/>These might include deficits in social interactions and reciprocal understanding, repetitive behaviour and narrow interests, and impairment in language and communication. The study used a novel brain imaging method to identify altered brain connections in people with ASD. The researchers from King's College London used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique, to compare networks of white matter in 61 adults with ASD and 61 controls. <br/><br/>White matter consists of large bundles of nerve cells that connect different regions of the brain and enable communication between them. The scans showed that men with ASD had differences in brain connections in the frontal lobe, a part of the brain that is crucial to developing language and social interaction skills.