The multifocal neocortical dysplasia detected in four brains of autistic subjects (31%) was associated with a local loss of vertical and horizontal organization of the neocortex, formation of abnormal layers, loss of orientation of neurons (Fig. 3a, b) and thickening of the affected portion of the cortical ribbon. A focal dysplasia in the entorhinal cortex, observed mainly in the second layer with a local absence of islands and/or reduced number of neurons, was found in the 23-year-old and the 60-year-old autistic subjects (15%) (Fig. 3c, d). A lack of giant multinuclear neurons and large, ballooned glial cells typical of focal cortical dysplasia indicated that the observed developmental changes in neocortex and archicortex reflect a more subtle cortical malformation, classified usually as focal cortical microdysgenesis.
