Perinatal brain growth and autistic traits in toddlers.

ABSTRACT: Autism is a heterogeneous set of neurodevelopmental conditions with a significant heritable component and perinatal origins. The earliest observable behavioural traits, with which a diagnosis can be made, emerge at 18 months of age. Previous studies have reported increased head circumference and brain growth in autistic children, but less is known about whether this extends to the wider spectrum of traits or to early brain development in the first 6 months of life. Data from two independent cohorts, the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) and Cambridge Human Imaging and Longitudinal Development (CHILD), were assessed in late fetal and early infancy for brain structure with MRI. Global and regional brain volumes in the dHCP, were studied prenatally (n = 106, mean age = 29.27 [SD = 3.

SUBMITTER: Tsompanidis A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12623961 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature