DOI

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are relatively infrequent but are devastating developmental conditions characterized by marked deficiencies in social, communicative and other behavioral domains. It has been known for a substantial period of time that these disorders are genetic in nature. However, elucidating the specific mechanisms of these disorders has been difficult. A major reason for such difficulty is the recognized genetic heterogeneity of ASDs. Specifically, many genetic mechanisms related to structural variations in the genome have been reported as possible genetic causes of these disorders. This review briefly exemplifies these genetic mechanisms, presents a concise overview of the evidence for the genetic basis of ASDs and provides an appraisal of the specific structural genetic variants thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of these complex disorders.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)591-599
Number of pages9
JournalFuture Neurology
Volume4
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

    Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology

    Research areas

  • Common genetic variants, Copy number variation, Familial risk, Heritability, Rare genetic variants

ID: 87396578