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The amygdala, cerebellum, and many other brain regions have been implicated in autism. [15]Unlike some brain disorders which have clear molecular hallmarks that can be observed in every affected individual, such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, autism does not have a unifying mechanism at the molecular, cellular, or systems level.
Courchesne made his initial major contribution to autism research in 1988 when he published one of the first neuroimaging studies of autism in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrating that autism involves developmental brain defects in the cerebellum and is definitively a neural biological disorder of early development and not a psychological disorder.
In 2006, the MIND Institute launched its Autism Phenome Project, with the objective of identifying biological and behavioral patterns in order to define distinct autism spectrum subtypes. According to Amaral, "The tremendous variation in autism leads us to believe that it is a group of disorders rather than a single one." [9]
Autism is associated with several genetic disorders, [4] perhaps due to an overlap in genetic causes. [5] About 10–15% of autism cases have an identifiable Mendelian (single-gene) condition, chromosome abnormality, or other genetic syndrome, [6] a category referred to as syndromic autism.
University of San Diego professors are developing programs to empower neurodivergent students --- those with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia, among other learning differences.
A 2018 review suggests that the frequent association of gastrointestinal disorders and autism is due to abnormalities of the gut–brain axis. [109] The "leaky gut syndrome" hypothesis developed by Andrew Wakefield, known for his fraudulent study on another cause of autism, is popular among parents of children with autism.
The imprinted brain hypothesis is an unsubstantiated hypothesis in evolutionary psychology regarding the causes of autism spectrum and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, first presented by Bernard Crespi and Christopher Badcock in 2008.
Hippocampal sclerosis is the most common brain abnormality in those with temporal lobe epilepsy. [16] Hippocampal sclerosis may occur in children under 2 years of age with 1 instance seen as early as 6 months. [17] About 70% of those evaluated for temporal lobe epilepsy surgery have hippocampal sclerosis.