Fig. 1

Aberrant striatal compartments in the caudate nucleus of human ASD brains. a Information on human subjects. The brain section numbers indicate the locations of the sampled sections relative to the frontal pole apex (See Additional file 1). b-c In situ hybridization shows that PDYN-positive striosomes (arrows) are decreased in the caudate nucleus of ASD brains (b’, c) compared to the control brains (b, c). d-e’ The pattern of calbindin-poor striosomes (arrows) is less distinct in ASD caudate nucleus (d’, e’) than that in controls (d, e). The boxed regions in d, d’ are shown at high magnification in e and e’, respectively. f, f’ The boxed regions in e, e’ are shown at high magnification in f, f’ to illustrate calbindin-poor striosomes in the control (f) and ASD (f’) brains. g, g’ The striosomes-matrix boundaries (bracketed regions in e, e’) are shown at high magnification in g, g’. The arrows indicate calbindin-positive cells in striosomes. h Quantification indicates that the area of calbindin-poor striosomes is decreased, but the area of calbindin-rich matrix is increased in ASD caudate nucleus. i Quantification indicates that calbindin-positive cells are increased in ASD striosomes, but calbindin-positive cells are decreased in the ASD matrix compartment. n = 3/group. IC: internal capsule; M, matrix; S: striosome. *P < 0.05. Error bars represent s.e.m. Student’s t-test are used in c, t₍₄₎ = 3.453 and i, t₍₄₎ = − 3.962 in striosome. Mann-Whitney U test is used in h, U < 0.0000001 and i, U < 0.0000001 in the matrix. Scale bars: 1 mm (b-b’, d-d’, e-e’), 100 μm (f-f’, g-g’), 10 μm (high magnification panels below f, f’)