This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Casanova, M. F. Articles by Gomez, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Casanova, M. F. Articles by Gomez, J. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Disruption in the Inhibitory Architecture of the Cell Minicolumn: Implications for Autisim

Department of Psychiatry and Department of Neurology, Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology; Medical College of Georgiam0casa02{at}louisville.edu

Daniel Buxhoeveden

Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Georgia

Juan Gomez

Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Georgia

The modular arrangement of the neocortex is based on the cell minicolumn: a self-contained ecosystem of neurons and their afferent, efferent, and interneuronal connections. The authors’ preliminary studies indicate that minicolumns in the brains of autistic patients are narrower, with an altered internal organization. More specifically, their minicolumns reveal less peripheral neuropil space and increased spacing among their constituent cells. The peripheral neuropil space of the minicolumn is the conduit, among other things, for inhibitory local circuit projections. A defect in these GABAergic fibers may correlate with the increased prevalence of seizures among autistic patients. This article expands on our initial findings by arguing for the specificity of GABAergic inhibition in the neocortex as being focused around its mini- and macrocolumnar organization. The authors conclude that GABAergic interneurons are vital to proper minicolumnar differentiation and signal processing (e.g., filtering capacity of the neocortex), thus providing a putative correlate to autistic symptomatology.

Key Words: Autistic disorder • Cerebral cortex/pathology • Computer simulation

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. W. G. Vandenbroucke, H. S. Scholte, H. van Engeland, V. A. F. Lamme, and C. Kemner A neural substrate for atypical low-level visual processing in autism spectrum disorder Brain, April 1, 2008; 131(4): 1013 - 1024. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. F. Casanova and C. R. Tillquist Encephalization, Emergent Properties, and Psychiatry: A Minicolumnar Perspective Neuroscientist, February 1, 2008; 14(1): 101 - 118. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. Kenet, R. C. Froemke, C. E. Schreiner, I. N. Pessah, and M. M. Merzenich Perinatal exposure to a noncoplanar polychlorinated biphenyl alters tonotopy, receptive fields, and plasticity in rat primary auditory cortex PNAS, May 1, 2007; 104(18): 7646 - 7651. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Williams, A. E. Mars, S. G. Buyske, E. S. Stenroos, R. Wang, M. F. Factura-Santiago, G. H. Lambert, and W. G. Johnson Risk of Autistic Disorder in Affected Offspring of Mothers With a Glutathione S-Transferase P1 Haplotype Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, April 1, 2007; 161(4): 356 - 361. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Stone, B. Merriman, R. M. Cantor, D. H. Geschwind, and S. F. Nelson High density SNP association study of a major autism linkage region on chromosome 17 Hum. Mol. Genet., March 15, 2007; 16(6): 704 - 715. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. C. Schanen Epigenetics of autism spectrum disorders Hum. Mol. Genet., October 15, 2006; 15(suppl_2): R138 - R150. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. F. Casanova Neuropathological and Genetic Findings in Autism: The Significance of a Putative Minicolumnopathy Neuroscientist, October 1, 2006; 12(5): 435 - 441. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. D. Friedman, D. W. W. Shaw, A. A. Artru, G. Dawson, H. Petropoulos, and S. R. Dager Gray and White Matter Brain Chemistry in Young Children With Autism. Arch Gen Psychiatry, July 1, 2006; 63(7): 786 - 794. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. R. Herbert Large Brains in Autism: The Challenge of Pervasive Abnormality Neuroscientist, October 1, 2005; 11(5): 417 - 440. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Bertone, L. Mottron, P. Jelenic, and J. Faubert Enhanced and diminished visuo-spatial information processing in autism depends on stimulus complexity Brain, October 1, 2005; 128(10): 2430 - 2441. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. R. Herbert Neuroimaging in Disorders of Social and Emotional Functioning: What Is the Question? J Child Neurol, October 1, 2004; 19(10): 772 - 784. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. F. Casanova, J. Araque, J. Giedd, and J. M. Rumsey Reduced Brain Size and Gyrification in the Brains of Dyslexic Patients J Child Neurol, April 1, 2004; 19(4): 275 - 281. [Abstract] [PDF]