Eric Courchesne

Eric Courchesne is a professor of neurosciences at UC San Diego. He is a leading expert on brain structural and functional abnormalities associated with autism. His research has identified biobehavioral markers of autism that will allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment leading to better clinical outcomes by integrating behavioral, developmental, genetic, neuroanatomical and neurofunctional findings. His studies have identified structures that are abnormal at infancy in autism and elucidated patterns of abnormal growth from infancy through adulthood. His neuroimaging studies of autism were named to the Top Ten Autism Research Studies of 2010 and 2011 by the IACC. His most recent studies discovered in prefrontal cortex in young autistic children a 67% excess in neuron number, dysregulation of genetic mechanisms that control neuron numbers and patterning, and cellular and laminar defects.