Extra brain cells may be key to autism

CHILDREN with autism appear to have too many cells in a key area of the brain needed for communication and emotional development, say United States researchers.They say their findings help explain why young children with autism often develop brains that are larger than normal.Dr Eric Courchesne, of the University of California San Diego Autism Center of Excellence, and colleagues, report their findings Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.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.The new 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."We found a really remarkable 67 per cent increase in the total number of brain cells in the prefrontal cortex," says Courchesne.He 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 children with autism.The prefrontal cortex is where language and communication is based, as well as behaviours such as mood, attention, and social ability. Typically, autistic children have difficulty in these areas."It's a part of the brain that's important for social, emotional and communication functions, and it composes about 25 to 30 per cent of the cerebral cortex," says Courchesne.
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