Neuron Number and Size in Prefrontal Cortex of Children With Autism.

The article explores whether early brain overgrowth in children with autism involves excess neuron numbers in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Results show that children with autism had 67% more neurons in the PFC versus in control children. Brain weight in the autistic cases differed from normative average weight for age by a mean of 17.6%, while brains in controls differed by a mean of 0.2%. The findings suggest that brain overgrowth in males with autism involved an abnormal excess number of neurons in the PFC.