Lissencephaly
Definition
Lissencephaly, literally meaning smooth brain, is a rare birth abnormality of the brain that results in profound mental retardation and severe seizures.
Lissencephaly is caused by an arrest in development of the fetal brain during early pregnancy. The cerebral cortex, the top layer of the brain controlling higher thought processes, does not develop the normal sulci, the indentations or valleys in the cortex, and gyri, the ridges or convolutions seen on the surface of the cortex. Instead, the cortex in a person with lissencephaly is thickened and smooth with disorganized neurons that have not migrated to their proper places. The typical cortex has six layers of neurons, but brains with lissencephaly usually have only four.
Description
The condition was first reported in...
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