The amygdala, which is enlarged in children aged 2 years who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, appears to accelerate in growth in the first 6 to 12 months of life, researchers reported in The American Journal of Psychiatry.
“This suggests that early, presymptomatic brain changes in infancy may represent a cascade of linked brain and behavior changes that lead to the emergence of the full syndrome of autism, consolidating into a clinically diagnosable condition in the [second] and [third] years of life,” Mark D. Shen, PhD, an assistant professor and translational