Excessive Numbers of Neurons Found in Autistic Brain

Larger-than-normal numbers of nerve cells in areas of the brain involved in social, communication and cognitive development have been proven to be common in children suffering from autism, and especially in boys.

Investigators from the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) say that this subpopulation displays a 67 percent increase in cortical cells numbers from healthy control subjects.

The main implication of this study is that autism may in fact be the consequence of any number of prenatal processes going wrong. A region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex was found to be the most affected by excessive numbers of neurons.

“Because new cortical neurons are not generated after birth, the increase in neuron numbers in children with autism points to prenatal processes,” explains Eric Courchesne, the lead researcher on the study, and the director of the ACE, as quoted by PsychCentral.