Atypical representation of sensorimotor cortex in a patient with autism and epilepsy confirmed by direct electrocortical stimulation

Abstract

Prior studies have used functional neuroimaging to demonstrate that the organization of the autistic brain is different from that of the non-autistic brain. Similarly, patients with epilepsy have also shown cortical reorganization. We present a case study that provides direct confirmation of disorganized sensorimotor distribution in a patient with autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy. To our knowledge, this is the first time cortical mapping directly showing abnormal cortical organization in a patient with autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy has been reported in the literature.

Keywords

• Autism
• Epilepsy
• Homunculus
• Variability
• Mosaicism