The findings support a concept scientists have long suspected: ASD arises early in fetal development during the period when brain stem cells divide to form the elements of a functioning brain.
Writing in the journal Stem Cell Reports, Rutgers scientists (Emanual DiCicco-Bloom and James Millonig) examined brain stem cells—known as neural precursor cells (NPCs) of patients with ASD. They found the NPCs—responsible for producing the three main kinds of brain cells: neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes—either overproduced or underproduced the number of permanent brain cells.