Brain overgrowth in the latter part of an infant's first year may contribute to the onset of autistic characteristics, say researchers from the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center at the University of North Carolina. Speaking at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting, they suggested the findings support concurrent research which has found brain overgrowth in autistic children as young as two years old. Lead researcher, Joseph Piven, says that behavioral studies of infants at high risk for autism suggest that the onset of most behavioral symptoms which define the disorder, such as problems with and social interaction, also occur at about age one. "One reason these findings are important is because early post-natal onset raises the possibility that there may be a window for early treatment and prevention that could be identified by future studies," Piven said.
Autism, a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe deficits in social interaction and communication, is associated with a restricted range of activities and interests, as well as stereotyped repetitive behaviors.
In normal brain development, neuronal connections are eliminated through a process called "pruning." This process refines normal brain connections and increases the efficiency of remaining connections in the brain. Piven says one possibility is that there is less pruning in children with autism and therefore, their brains become larger than in children without autism.
Piven cautions that while the study seems to suggest a link between brain overgrowth and autism, there are many variants of autism among children, so the ways in which autistic children develop and are affected by brain growth can vary greatly.
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Source: American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
