Gene mutation in the brain may be early clue to autism, study suggests

Mutations of a certain gene may contribute to autism by interfering with normal brain development, a new study suggests. The gene, which is mutated in some people with autism, affects cells that set up the framework for the organization of a fetus’s developing cortex, according to the study published in Neuron. Those cells, called radial glia, can be viewed like the framing timbers of a house under construction. If the house’s framing is off, then the rest of the construction will be affected.