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John Robert Skoyles, PhD

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Minshew and Williams¹ argue for a "new neurobiology of autism" that identifies it as "a large-scale neural systems disorder with alterations in cortical systems connectivity." The basis for this conclusion are studies that compare matched groups of autistic and nonautistic subjects.

Their hypothesis is interesting, but they omit discussion of counter examples relevant to their hypothesis. If autism links to abnormalities in "cortical systems connectivity," then this requires that nonautistic individuals do not show such abnormalities. However, these are widely found.

First, they are present in individuals in the nonautistic group of the studies they cite. The autistic-related traits of these studies derive from group average comparisons that hide—as can be seen in inspection on the nonautistic control group data—individuals who have the same trait as that identified at the group level with autism. None of the reviewed physical or functional traits indeed identified with autism . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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RELATED LETTER

No New Neurobiology Yet for Autism—Reply
Nancy Minshew and Diane L. Williams
Arch Neurol. 2008;65(1):155-156.
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The New Neurobiology of Autism: Cortex, Connectivity, and Neuronal Organization
Nancy J. Minshew and Diane L. Williams
Arch Neurol. 2007;64(7):945-950.
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