As Chen [16] correctly pointed out, there are "many conflicting... (MRI)... findings in individuals within the ASD...(which result from)...factors such as population age, MRI acquisition parameters, details of the image processing pipeline, feature extraction procedures, analytic methods used to detect group differences and sample sizes...(which have)...contributed to these disparities...". From the entirety of MRI related studies, one may conclude that ASD is typically associated with widely distributed alterations of brain anatomy involving both grey and white matter, and with alterations in functional connectivity, which appear primarily decreased, yet also with some regionally increased connectivity. Despite a number of serious attempts, there are as yet no universally established MRI-based criteria that are usable to diagnose ASD. This no doubt reflects the problematic complexity of factors underlying autism as outlined above.
