Fetal ventriculomegaly is the most common antenatally-diagnosed brain abnormality. Imaging studies in antenatal isolated ventriculomegaly demonstrate enlarged ventricles and cortical overgrowth which are also present in children with autism-spectrum disorder/condition (ASD). We investigate the presence of ASD traits in a cohort of children (n = 24 [20 males/4 females]) with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, compared with 10 controls (n = 10 [6 males/4 females]). Neurodevelopmental outcome at school age included IQ, ASD traits (ADOS-2), sustained attention, neurological functioning, behaviour, executive function, sensory processing, co-ordination, and adaptive behaviours. Pre-school language development was assessed at 2 years. 37.5% of children, all male, in the ventriculomegaly cohort scored above threshold for autism/ASD classification. Pre-school language delay predicted an ADOS-2 autism/ASD classification with 73.3% specificity/66.7% sensitivity. Greater pre-school language delay was associated with more ASD symptoms. In this study, the neurodevelopment of children with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, associated with altered cortical development, includes ASD traits, difficulties in sustained attention, working memory and sensation-seeking behaviours.

胎儿脑室扩大是最常见的产前诊断脑部异常。产前孤立性脑室扩大的影像学研究表明，患有自闭症谱系障碍/病症 (ASD) 的儿童也存在脑室扩大和皮质过度生长。我们调查了一组患有孤立性胎儿脑室扩大的儿童（ n = 24 [20 名男性/4 名女性]）中 ASD 特征的存在情况，并与 10 名对照者（ n = 10 [6 名男性/4 名女性]）进行比较。学龄期的神经发育结果包括智商、自闭症谱系障碍特征 (ADOS-2)、持续注意力、神经功能、行为、执行功能、感觉处理、协调和适应性行为。学前语言发展在 2 岁时进行评估。脑室扩大队列中 37.5% 的儿童（均为男性）得分高于自闭症/自闭症谱系障碍分类阈值。学前语言延迟预测 ADOS-2 自闭症/自闭症谱系障碍分类的特异性为 73.3%/敏感性为 66.7%。学前语言发育迟缓程度越高，自闭症谱系障碍症状越多。在这项研究中，患有孤立性胎儿脑室扩大的儿童的神经发育与皮质发育改变相关，包括自闭症谱系障碍特征、持续注意力困难、工作记忆和感觉寻求行为。