Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30936767›Full record

ReviewDialogues in clinical neuroscience2018

From microcephaly to megalencephaly: determinants of brain size.

Filomena Pirozzi, Branden Nelson, Ghayda Mirzaa

Open access · diamondAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
56citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.8field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

56 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 98 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Review
  7. Non-transport functions of motor proteins in corticogenesis.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
  8. Article
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  11. mAutism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Filomena PirozziCenter for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Branden NelsonCenter for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Ghayda MirzaaCenter for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA; Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Seattle Children's Hospital · US

Funding

LABORATORY OF DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGYR24HD000836 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Ian Amos Glass · 1995 to 2026
$16.9M
Genes and pathways underlying brain overgrowth and focal cortical malformationsK08NS092898 · NINDS · SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI MIRZAA, GHAYDA · 2015 to 2019
$930k
New transgenic tools for mammalian fibrosis and regenerative repair researchR21OD023838 · OD · SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI MILLEN, KATHLEEN JOYCE, NELSON, BRANDEN R · 2017 to 2018
$504k
NICHD NIH HHS R24 HD000836NIH HHS R21 OD023838NINDS NIH HHS K08 NS092898
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Expansion of the human brain, and specifically the neocortex, is among the most remarkable evolutionary processes that correlates with cognitive, emotional, and social abilities. Cortical expansion is determined through a tightly orchestrated process of neural stem cell proliferation, migration, and ongoing organization, synaptogenesis, and apoptosis. Perturbations of each of these intricate steps can lead to abnormalities of brain size in humans, whether small (microcephaly) or large (megalencephaly). Abnormalities of brain growth can be clinically isolated or occur as part of complex syndromes associated with other neurodevelopmental problems (eg, epilepsy, autism, intellectual disability), brain malformations, and body growth abnormalities. Thorough review of the genetic literature reveals that human microcephaly and megalencephaly are caused by mutations of a rapidly growing number of genes linked within critical cellular pathways that impact early brain development, with important pathomechanistic links to cancer, body growth, and epilepsy. Given the rapid rate of causal gene identification for microcephaly and megalencephaly understanding the roles and interplay of these important signaling pathways is crucial to further unravel the mechanisms underlying brain growth disorders and, more fundamentally, normal brain growth and development in humans. In this review, we will (a) overview the definitions of microcephaly and megalencephaly, highlighting their classifications in clinical practice; (b) overview the most common genes and pathways underlying microcephaly and megalencephaly based on the fundamental cellular processes that are perturbed during cortical development; and (c) outline general clinical molecular diagnostic workflows for children and adults presenting with microcephaly and megalencephaly.

Indexed as

Autistic DisorderBrainHumansMegalencephalyMicrocephalyMutationOrgan Sizebrain sizemacrocephalymegalencephalymicrocephaly

Identifiers

PMID30936767
PMCPMC6436952
OpenAlexW2939659954

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.