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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Epilepsia. 2011 Jan 1;52(s1):1–6. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2010.02904.x

Figure 1. Interaction, convergence between brain development, epilepsy and autism.

Figure 1

Brain development is a state of heightened synaptic excitability, to permit the critical period of synaptic plasticity. When disrupted, it can either generate early cognitive disorders such as autism, or if synaptic excitability is excessive, epilepsy. Epilepsy is of high prevalence in the immature brain due to the heighted synaptic tone. Normal brain development, autism, and epilepsy all share in common synaptic activity, and further understanding of how epilepsy and autism may share similar dysregulation of synaptic elements may lead to new therapies. In addition, it is not yet known whether the epileptic seizures themselves, by way of dysregulating synaptic activity at a critical developmental stage, may contribute to autism.