Autism begins during pregnancy, with disorganized cell development in the brain cortex, according to a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings help explain the neuropathological origins of the disorder, which affects about 1 in 68 children, according to the CDC, but do not identify the mechanism behind it. Researchers used advanced genomic technology to evaluate the brain tissue of 11 children with autism who had died early with that of an equal number of unaffected children who had died at a young age. In 10 of the 11 autistic children, they found large patches of cell disorganization in the cortex, the part of the brain responsible for emotion, communication, language and social understanding, while only one non-autistic child's brain tissue showed a similar pattern. Interestingly, among the autistic children, no two brain patches were alike in their genomic presentation. Such findings may help explain how cell changes in specific locations may influence symptom expression, response to treatment and clinical outcomes, say the authors. Read the abstract.