A clinicopathological study of autism

TLDR

The study examined postmortem brain tissue from six autistic individuals, combining neuropathological analysis with clinical and educational records and standardized parent interviews. Four of six brains were megalencephalic with cortical abnormalities, brainstem developmental changes, and reduced Purkinje cells, indicating that autism involves widespread cortical pathology rather than isolated neurodevelopmental lesions.

Abstract

A neuropathological study of autism was established and brain tissue examined from six mentally handicapped subjects with autism. Clinical and educational records were obtained and standardized diagnostic interviews conducted with the parents of cases not seen before death. Four of the six brains were megalencephalic, and areas of cortical abnormality were identified in four cases. There were also developmental abnormalities of the brainstem, particularly of the inferior olives. Purkinje cell number was reduced in all the adult cases, and this reduction was sometimes accompanied by gliosis. The findings do not support previous claims of localized neurodevelopmental abnormalities. They do point to the likely involvement of the cerebral cortex in autism.