title: Autism spectrum disorders: developmental disconnection syndromes.
abstract: Autism is a common and heterogeneous childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. Analogous to broad syndromes such as mental retardation, autism has many etiologies and should be considered not as a single disorder but, rather, as 'the autisms'. However, recent genetic findings, coupled with emerging anatomical and functional imaging studies, suggest a potential unifying model in which higher-order association areas of the brain that normally connect to the frontal lobe are partially disconnected during development. This concept of developmental disconnection can accommodate the specific neurobehavioral features that are observed in autism, their emergence during development, and the heterogeneity of autism etiology, behaviors and cognition.
authors.affiliation: Program in Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology and Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. dhg@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Geschwind
authors.forename: Pat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Levitt
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000503:physiopathology*