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American study links extra brain cells to autism
Source: Agencies |
November 10, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHILDREN with autism appear to have too many cells in a key area of the brain needed for communication and emotional development, helping to explain why young children with autism often develop brains that are larger than normal, according to American researchers.
Their study suggests the condition starts in the womb because brain cells in this area known as the prefrontal cortex typically develop during the second trimester of pregnancy.
The findings could help narrow the search for a cause of autism, which affects one in every 150 children born today in the United States, or about 1 percent of the population.
"We found a really remarkable 67 percent increase in the total number of brain cells in the prefrontal cortex," said Dr Eric Courchesne of the University of California San Diego Autism Center of Excellence, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Courchesne and colleagues carefully counted the number of brain cells in tissue from seven boys with autism who had died and six boys who did not have autism at the time of their deaths. They focused on the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain which is thought to grow too large and too fast in autistic children.
"It's a part of the brain that's important for social, emotional and communication functions, and it composes about 25 to 30 percent of the cerebral cortex," Courchesne said in a telephone interview.
His team was first in 2003 to link rapid growth in head circumference in the first year of birth with autism. Courchesne said the finding of excess brain cells in the prefrontal cortex explains brain overgrowth in autism, and hints at why brain function in this area is disrupted.
"This isn't just a simple increase in neurons. It means a huge increase in potential connections and, therefore, a potential for miswiring which would lead to abnormal function."
Autism is a spectrum of disorders ranging from a profound inability to communicate and mental retardation to relatively mild symptoms, such as with Asperger's syndrome.
Their study suggests the condition starts in the womb because brain cells in this area known as the prefrontal cortex typically develop during the second trimester of pregnancy.
The findings could help narrow the search for a cause of autism, which affects one in every 150 children born today in the United States, or about 1 percent of the population.
"We found a really remarkable 67 percent increase in the total number of brain cells in the prefrontal cortex," said Dr Eric Courchesne of the University of California San Diego Autism Center of Excellence, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Courchesne and colleagues carefully counted the number of brain cells in tissue from seven boys with autism who had died and six boys who did not have autism at the time of their deaths. They focused on the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain which is thought to grow too large and too fast in autistic children.
"It's a part of the brain that's important for social, emotional and communication functions, and it composes about 25 to 30 percent of the cerebral cortex," Courchesne said in a telephone interview.
His team was first in 2003 to link rapid growth in head circumference in the first year of birth with autism. Courchesne said the finding of excess brain cells in the prefrontal cortex explains brain overgrowth in autism, and hints at why brain function in this area is disrupted.
"This isn't just a simple increase in neurons. It means a huge increase in potential connections and, therefore, a potential for miswiring which would lead to abnormal function."
Autism is a spectrum of disorders ranging from a profound inability to communicate and mental retardation to relatively mild symptoms, such as with Asperger's syndrome.
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