title: Autism and dyslexia: a spectrum of cognitive styles as defined by minicolumnar morphometry.
abstract: There is a continuum of cognitive styles amongst humans, defined by differences in minicolumnar numbers/width and arcuate/commissural white matter connectivities. Specifically, it is the connectivity within and between modular cortical circuits that defines conditions such as autism and developmental dyslexia. In autism, a model of local hyperconnectivity and long-range hypoconnectivity explains many of the behavioral and cognitive traits present in the condition, while the inverse arrangement of local hypoconnectivity and long-range hyperconnectivity in dyslexia sheds light on that condition as well. We propose that the cognitive styles present in autism and developmental dyslexia typify the extremes of a minicolumnar spectrum in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville, 401 E Chestnut St, Suite 610, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
authors.forename: Emily L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Manuel F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Casanova
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003071:Cognition; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009434:Neural Pathways