Autism as an adaptive common variant pathway for human brain development

While research on focal perinatal lesions has provided evidence for recovery of function, much less is known about processes of brain adaptation resulting from mild but widespread disturbances to neural processing over the early years (such as alterations in synaptic efficiency). Rather than being v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental cognitive neuroscience 2017-06, Vol.25, p.5-11
Main Author: Johnson, Mark H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autistic Disorder - physiopathology
Brain - growth & development
Brain - pathology
Female
Humans
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Summary:While research on focal perinatal lesions has provided evidence for recovery of function, much less is known about processes of brain adaptation resulting from mild but widespread disturbances to neural processing over the early years (such as alterations in synaptic efficiency). Rather than being viewed as a direct behavioral consequence of life-long neural dysfunction, I propose that autism is best viewed as the end result of engaging adaptive processes during a sensitive period. From this perspective, autism is not appropriately described as a disorder of neurodevelopment, but rather as an adaptive common variant pathway of human functional brain development.
ISSN:1878-9293
1878-9307
1878-9307
DOI:10.1016/j.dcn.2017.02.004