Focal patches of abnormal laminar cytoarchitecture and cortical disorganization of neurons, but not glia, in prefrontal and temporal cortical tissue from autopsied brains in 10 of 11 children with autism and in 1 of 11 unaffected children age 2 to 15. The location of those patches corresponded to regions mediating the functions that are disturbed in autism: social, emotional, communication, and language functions. Autism involves early brain overgrowth and dysfunction, which is most strongly evident in the prefrontal cortex. The findings tend to reinforce the notion that autism is prenatal in origin.尸检在11名自闭症儿童中的10名的额叶和颞叶皮层组织发现局部斑片性异常层状细胞结构和皮质神经元紊乱，而非神经胶质细胞。类似的发现仅存在于11名未受影响儿童中的1名。儿童年龄2岁至15岁。这些斑片所在的位置与涉及自闭症功能紊乱的区域相对应，如社交，情感，沟通和语言功能。自闭症涉及早期脑过度生长和功能障碍，尤以前额叶皮层最为明显。该发现有助于强化自闭症是先天性起源的概念。
