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Brain overgrowth in autism during a critical time in development: implications for frontal pyramidal neuron and interneuron development and connectivity
Author(s) -
Courchesne Eric,
Pierce Karen
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2005.01.003
Subject(s) - neuroscience , interneuron , autism , abnormality , psychology , brain development , biology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , inhibitory postsynaptic potential
While abnormalities in head circumference in autism have been observed for decades, it is only recently that scientists have begun to focus in on the developmental origins of such a phenomenon. In this article we review past and present literature on abnormalities in head circumference, as well as recent developmental MRI studies of brain growth in this disorder. We hypothesize that brain growth abnormalities are greatest in frontal lobes, particularly affecting large neurons such as pyramidal cells, and speculate how this abnormality might affect neurofunctional circuitry in autism. The relationship to clinical characteristics and other disorders of macrencephaly are discussed.