Can Too Many Brain Neurons Result In Autism?

This premise seems very likely according to a small study conducted in University of California, San Diego’s Autism Center of Excellence where researchers conducted a post-mortem study on the brain tissues of seven autistic boys and six normal boys as controls.
Researchers’ post-mortem examination yielded that the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the anterior part of the frontal brain lobe that controls cognitive behavior, personality, decision making and correct social behavior, of all the seven high-functioning autistic boys contained much more neurons (1.95 billion) compared to accepted ranges (just 1.16 billion). They noted that the youngest of the autistic boys had twice as many neurons. Bigger brain sizes are common finding in people with autism, yet how it influences the condition is still unclear.
The study hints that autism starts when things begin to grow wrong very early, when the embryo is just forming in the womb; the first neural cells form just three weeks after the conception. The factors that causes it is still in dispute, but infection of viral agents that cause mumps, measles and rubella during first trimester is strongly suspected. The wrong development caused failure of the neurons to wire and organize themselves, researchers said, and causing autism.
Though small, this is the first quantitative and confirmation test of a theory that autism is a result of overabundance of neurons in critical brain regions (like PFC) resulting in pathological and early developmental problems. A study in 2003 first documented this phenomenon and is followed by subsequent studies that observed brain enlargement in children with autism. Researchers recommended further studies to confirm whether overabundance of neurons can cause autism.
The study appears in the November issue of JAMA.

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