Autism may begin in the womb

Conditions for autism may develop even before birth, in the second and third trimester of pregnancy, a new study has found.

The study points to a disruption in the development of cortex, the outer layers of the brain which happens during the second and third trimester.

For the study that involved post-mortem brain tissue, researchers examined donated samples from 11 children, aged between 2 and 16, with autism and equal number of children without the condition.

They used special techniques to detect and visualise specific types of neurons in the brain's outer layer.

The scientists discovered dense patches in the cortex containing irregular shaped neurons residing in the wrong cortical layers, according to media reports.

These patches were 5 to 7 millimetres (about 0.2 inches) long and were found in the frontal and temporal cortex of 10 of the 11 children with autism but only one of the 11 unaffected children, the study claimed.

"These patches are not like a lesion, or loss of cells. The cells are there, but they haven't become what they were supposed to, in the layer they were supposed to be in," said Eric Courchesne, a professor of neuroscience in University of California, San Diego.

The patches were found in frontal and temporal cortex, areas that are important for social interaction and language, he added.

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MATERNAL DRINKING CAN DAMAGE EARLIEST FOETAL LEARNING

Foetuses exposed to heavy binge drinking by their mums while still in the womb require significantly more trials to habituate and also exhibit a greater variability in test performance, a new study has revealed.

While it has become clear that drinking during pregnancy can damage the fetal central nervous system, these outcomes can also be influenced by factors such as timing, type, amount, and duration of alcohol exposure.

Furthermore, most studies of fetal neurobehavioral effects have been conducted during the postnatal period.

This study is the first of its kind, examining alcohol’s effects on fetal brain function – information processing and stability of performance – at the time of exposure to alcohol.

When examined after birth, individuals who have been prenatally exposed to alcohol exhibit a wide range of behaviours that are indicative of central nervous system dysfunction. 

These can include poorer abilities to learn, deficits in attention, poorer abilities to plan and organize, and an inability to learn about the consequences of actions.

As a consequence, they may demonstrate behavioural difficulties and social problems which might lead to problems at school, and often ‘trouble with the law.

It is widely accepted that habituation represents a basic form of learning. Previous research has shown that the normal human foetus habituates, but habituation rates are altered if the foetus is exposed to reduced oxygen levels, maternal smoking, maternal sedatives, and impaired foetal growth.