[Regional cerebral blood flow changes of right parietal lobe and superior temporal gyrus in Asperger's disorder in comparison with the patients with schizophrenia].

Single-photon emission computed tomography (SEPCT) and neuropsychological tests were performed in subjects with Asperger's disorder and schizophrenia with a statistical parametric mapping analysis of 99mECD-SPECT images. The SPM analysis of SPECT images demonstrated reduced regional cerebral blood flows in right parietal lobe and right superior temporal gyrus in Asperger's disorder. On the other hand, schizophrenic individuals showed mild hypoperfusions in bilateral frontal lobes. These abnormalities on SEPCT images in Asperser's disorder could be related to the cognitive dysfunction observed in the spatial working memory task and the impairment of gaze processing. The SEPCT study could be helpful to discriminate Asperser's disorder from schizophrenia.