The developmental neuropathology of autism

Abstract

The cellular neuropathology of autism is well described and illustrated in several reports. This chapter focuses on the timing and mechanism of these pathological changes, an aspect of the pathology of the autistic brain not covered in detail in the prior reports.Particular attention is paid to the changes in the brain stem, the cerebellum, and the cerebral cortex. Although the molecular (genetic) mechanism of these diverse neuropathologies is unknown, it can be seen that there is broad diversity of these changes, with perturbations of several different developmental processes, rather than reliance on a single mechanism. The vast majority of these pathologies can be dated to the prenatal period. The final section explores the relationship of these prenatally derived pathologies, and perturbation of other postnatal developmental processes, to the well-documented abnormal postnatal brain growth. I conclude that, based on the available data, that none of these mechanisms seem likely to account for the abnormal postnatal brain growth.