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New research highlights some potentially important differences in the brains of children with autism.

The small study found that boys with autism had an average of 67% more brain cells called neurons in the prefrontal cortex region of their brains, when compared with children who did not have autism.

Located in the front of the brain beneath the forehead, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for "higher order" functions such as problem solving, emotions, and complex thought. These are some of the processes that are impaired in autism.

Most of these neurons develop before birth, which would go against the theory that certain vaccines or other environmental influences encountered after birth may cause autism.
The findings are published in TheJournal of the American Medical Association.