Genes with high penetrance for syndromic and non-syndromic autism typically function within the nucleus and regulate gene expression.

According to GO terminology, autism-related gene products are integral to neural development. While it is difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding IDs unassociated with autism, it is clear that the majority of HCA genes are tightly linked with general dysregulation of gene expression, suggesting that disturbances to the chronology of neural maturation and patterning may be key in conferring susceptibility to autism spectrum conditions.