The Neuropathology of Autism

Abstract

AbstractThe multitude of neuropathological results in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should be critically assessed taking into consideration the use of medications, comorbidities, and the agonal/preagonal condition of the patients. The often‐quoted Purkinje cell loss, in many cases, may be a reactive phenomenon to seizures and/or usage of anticonvulsant medications. There is, however, a convergence of clinical and neuropathological evidence that indicates developmental abnormalities of the cerebral cortex in ASD. The presence of heterotopias, laminar effacement, and a minicolumnopathy suggest irregularities both of germinal cell divisions and in the subsequent migration of daughter cells. Clinical heterogeneity may be dictated by variability in the interplay between exogenous factors, genetic vulnerability, and the timing during brain development that frame the action of the multifactorial components.