Genetic Analysis Links Autism to Missing Brain Structure

Published November 14, 2013 in Simons Foundation Autism Research Institute

The largest genetic analysis yet conducted of people lacking a brain structure called the corpus callosum shows that the condition shares many risk factors with autism. The study was published PLoS Genetics. The corpus callosum is the thick bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. People lacking this structure, a condition called agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC), often have social impairments, and roughly one-third of adults meet diagnostic criteria for autism. Children with autism seem to have a smaller corpus callosum than controls do.

http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2013/genetic-analysis-links-autism-to-missing-brain-structure

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