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Intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of neuronal development: Relation to infantile autism

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Abstract

This paper attempts to view the autistic syndrome in the context of a disorder of brain development. The authors review some of the known or suspected causes of the autistic syndrome: maternal rubella, metabolic diseases, and heredity. Some basic principles of cellular neuroanatomy and chemical neurotransmission are sketched. The stages of human brain development from neurulation through histogenesis, cell migration, and elaboration of dendritic trees and axonal projections are described. The authors conclude that there are a limited number of developmental loci that could be disrupted and lead to the autistic syndrome, and that these most probably occur in the end stages of neuronal development, after the migrating neurons have reached their final place in the brain and have begun to elaborate communicative processes. Finally, the authors speculate on how neurochemical disturbances might alter end stage neuronal differentiation leading to the pathology of infantile autism.

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  1. Laboratory of Developmental Neurochemistry, Division of Child Psychiatry and Child Development, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 94305, Stanford, California

    Roland D. Ciaranello, Scott R. VandenBerg & Thomas F. Anders

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The authors wish to express their gratitude to Rebecca and Solomon Baker for support of the studies on autistic children ongoing in the Division of Child Psychiatry and Child Development. The first author is the recipient of a Research Career Development Award (Type II) from the NIMH (MH 00219). The second author is the recipient of a Neuropathology Research Training Grant (NS 07111) from the NINCDS.

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Ciaranello, R.D., VandenBerg, S.R. & Anders, T.F. Intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of neuronal development: Relation to infantile autism. J Autism Dev Disord 12, 115–145 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531304

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