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The apoptotic perspective of autism
Author(s) -
Wei Hongen,
Alberts Ian,
Li Xiaohong
Publication year - 2014
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.2014.04.004
Subject(s) - pathological , autism , mechanism (biology) , neuroscience , psychology , programmed cell death , apoptosis , perspective (graphical) , neurodevelopmental disorder , cognition , apoptotic cell death , developmental psychology , biology , medicine , pathology , genetics , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , computer science
Autism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction, deficits in verbal and non‐verbal communication, and repetitive behavior and restricted interests. The normal brain development during fetal brain development and the first year of life is critical to the behaviors and cognitions in adulthood. Programmed cell death (apoptosis) is an important mechanism that determines the size and shape of the brain and regulates the proper wiring of developing neuronal networks. Pathological activation of apoptotic death pathways under pathological conditions may lead to neuroanatomic abnormalities and possibly to developmental disabilities. It has been demonstrated a possible association between neural cell death and autism. Here, the abnormal apoptosis found in autism from postmortem and animal studies was reviewed and the possible mechanism was discussed.