1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-1-50-b 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-1-7-6 Prenatal and Perinatal Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Cerebellar Atrophy and Autism http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 12 1987 01 08 2016 1 7 50 51 Copyright: © 1987 The Author(s) 1987 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Histoanatomic observations of the brain in early infantile autism

Magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRI) were obtained for 14 autistic patients, aged 4 to 19 yrs, diagnosed by DSM-III criteria at the Univ of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, and were compared to a control group.

 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scans Cerebellum of Autistic Patients Cerebellar Pathology

Magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRI) were obtained for 14 autistic patients, aged 4 to 19 yrs, diagnosed by DSM-III criteria at the Univ of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, and were compared to a control group. In coronal scans, the cerebellum of autistic patients was smaller and the IVth ventricles larger whereas axial scans showed no differences from controls. The authors refer to previous reports of postmortem evidence of cerebellar pathology in autism [1], and CT scans showing cerebellar atrophy [2]. The significance of cerebellar involvement in behavioral disorders is unknown. [3]

COMMENT. The recognition of an organically based dysfunction of the brain as a major causative factor in infantile autism is gaining favor. It may be necessary to redefine the syndrome when the causal mechanisms are better understood and when primary and secondary symptoms have been distinguished. [4]

 Bauman M Kemper TL Histoanatomic observations of the brain in early infantile autism Neurology 1985 Jun 35 6 866 74 10.1212/WNL.35.6.866 4000488 Damasio H Maurer RG Damasio AR Chui HC Computerized tomographic scan findings in patients with autistic behavior Arch Neurol 1980 Aug 37 8 504 10 10.1001/archneur.1980.00500570080023 6968201 Gaffney GR Tsai LY Kuperman S Minchin S Cerebellar structure in autism Am J Dis Child 1987 Dec 141 12 1330 2 10.1001/archpedi.1987.04460120096044 3500635 Rutter M National Society for Autistic Children definition of the syndrome of autism J Autism Child Schizophr 1978 Jun 8 2 162 9 10.1007/BF01537864 670130