In the current study, we have completed a genetic analysis in a large number of ASD cases and families, with a combined sample set of more than 10,000 subjects of European ancestry. We have identified and replicated common genetic variants on 5p14.1 that are associated with susceptibility to ASDs. Besides the potential roles of the nearby CDH10 and CDH9 genes, pathway-based association analysis lend further support to neuronal cell-adhesion molecules in conferring susceptibility to ASDs, suggesting that specific genetic variants in this gene class may be involved in shaping the physical structure and functional connectivity of the brain, that leads to the clinical manifestations of ASDs. Apart from highlighting the genetic complexity of ASDs and the need for large sample sizes in unveiling their genetic causes, our study represents a successful application of the genome-wide association approach in identifying common susceptibility alleles, as part of a larger effort to interrogate the complex genetic architecture of ASDs. Because the genetic aetiologies of ASDs may be linked to the neurobiological components that build and modify connectivity of the brain, by comprehensively identifying
