Folic acid

Ectoderm is responsible for the formation of neural tissue. It is one of the three main layers of germ cells in the early stages of embryonic development.

Encephaloceles refers to defects in the development of a fetal structure called the neural tube. The tube fails to close completely during development of the fetus.

The neural tube is the part of the development of the central nervous system in a developing embryo. What is pretty amazing about this is that within the first 4 weeks of development from conception, the entire framework of the central nervous system will have finished forming! Around day 18, the neural plate appears at the midline of the thickening of the ectoderm, the outermost layer of the germinal sac. Essentially what happens over the next couple of days is that the neural plate forms a depression, which eventually is pushed down and separated from the original cell layer by the fusion of the neural crests, resulting in the formation of a neural tube - this is rather hard to explain without a proper diagram!

Autism is not a physical afflication, it is a disorder of neural development (i.e. abnormal development of the brain) which leads to difficulties with communication, flexibility of thought and social interaction.