Mini-brain Model of Idiopathic Autism Reveals Underlying Pathology of Neuronal Overgrowth
The majority of cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unknown. In a paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues across the nation and world, have created a “mini-brain” model, derived from persons with a particular form of idiopathic ASD characterized by over-sized brains, revealing a defective molecular pathway during brain development that results in early neuronal overgrowth and dysfunctional cortical networks.