ABSTRACT

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders, characterized by difficulties in social interaction, social cognition, processing of emotional signs and have genetic basis and abnormal brain development. Recently, in the etiology of ASD, genetic, biochemical and neuroanatomical factors are predominant in literature. With the increasing of the prevalence of ASD, the studies started to emphasize the environmental factors in autism in addition to social cognition studies, neuroanatomic evaluations and genetic researches. In this review the influence of environmental factors in the etiology of autism is evaluated.