Asperger's syndrome: Difference between revisions

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Some researchers have claimed that the lessened prevalence of autism in women, rather than being explicable by the extreme male brain theory, may be due to greater levels of mutational load possibly being required for the disorder to be symptomatic in females.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24581740</ref> This also implies that females who have the condition may exhibit stronger symptoms due to carrying more deleterious mutations than males with the condition. However, it is also claimed that the lesser female prevalence of the disorder may be due to higher-functioning female autists being more effective at 'masking' the socially disruptive symptoms of the condition.<ref>https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/females-are-genetically-protected-from-autism/</ref>
Some researchers have claimed that the lessened prevalence of autism in women, rather than being explicable by the extreme male brain theory, may be due to greater levels of mutational load possibly being required for the disorder to be symptomatic in females.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24581740</ref> This also implies that females who have the condition may exhibit stronger symptoms due to carrying more deleterious mutations than males with the condition. However, it is also claimed that the lesser female prevalence of the disorder may be due to higher-functioning female autists being more effective at 'masking' the socially disruptive symptoms of the condition.<ref>https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/females-are-genetically-protected-from-autism/</ref>


==Evolutionary theories of autism==
== Evolutionary theories of autism ==
Theories based on evolutionary psychology have proposed <ref>https://www.academia.edu/36525083/ADHD_Autism_and_Psychopathy_as_Life_Strategies_The_Role_of_Risk_Tolerance_on_Evolutionary_Fitness</ref> that ASD represents a 'failed' male evolutionary mating strategy adaption, with the disorders that are somewhat similar in their etiology and pathology to autism such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) and Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD, commonly known as 'psychopathy') likely represent more beneficial adaptions in general.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackPillScience/comments/bnnr6r/teenage_boys_with_adhd_are_much_more_successful/</ref>
Psychopathic traits include a lower arousal threshold (less or no fear, desire for extreme stimulation, very low inhibition) and it is argued these improve mating success in men, whereas autism is detrimental to mating success.<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-019-00213-0</ref>


In a similar vein, Overskied (2016) argued that many powerful politicians throughout recent history, such as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former US president Lyndon B Johnson, and the former South African president Nelson Mandela, among many others, exhibited significant subclinical autistic traits, and argued increase in male [[reproductive success]] associated with this status could explain some of the apparent increase in the prevalence of ASD in recent times. Overskied attempted to explain the discrepancy in the diagnosis of the disorder by sex by noting the reproductive success associated with high status is typically only found in men, with women's high status decreasing their reproductive success. He claims these subclinical autistic behaviors shared a common cause with actual autism, pre-natal [[testosterone]] exposure, per Baron-Cohen's extreme male brain theory. He also stated that the high cortisol levels often found in autistics may serve to inhibit the expression of such socially dominant behaviors in them, whereas the powerful figures he claimed exhibited sub-clinical autistic traits may not be subject to such high cortisol levels. <ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5005963/</ref>
It could be that autism is largely a result of impaied brain regions that normally mediate social behavior, but a number of theories have been proposed that aspects of autism could be adaptive.
 
One theory suggests ASD represents a 'failed' male evolutionary mating strategy due to overstimulation,<ref name="risktol">https://www.academia.edu/36525083/ADHD_Autism_and_Psychopathy_as_Life_Strategies_The_Role_of_Risk_Tolerance_on_Evolutionary_Fitness</ref> with the more sexually successful counterparts Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD, commonly known as 'psychopathy') which are somewhat similar in their etiology and pathology. All three disorders have low empathy in common. ADHD and ASPD in particular have a lower arousal threshold (less or no fear, desire for extreme stimulation, very low inhibition) in common. Low empathy and arousal thresholds (i.e. higher activity levels) are likely adaptive in males, as they facilitate gaining dominance status and therefore access to women.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackPillScience/comments/bnnr6r/teenage_boys_with_adhd_are_much_more_successful/</ref><ref>https://incels.wiki/w/Scientific_Blackpill#On_average.2C_women_are_attracted_to_the_Dark_Triad.E2.80.94narcissism.2C_manipulativeness.2C_.26_psychopathy</ref>
ASD males, do have low empathy, but a high arousal threshold, so they easily get overstimulated and then withdraw from dominance competition.<ref name="risktol"></ref> This may, in part, explain, the poor reproductive success of autists.<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-019-00213-0</ref>
 
In a similar vein, Overskied (2016) argued that many powerful politicians throughout recent history, such as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former US president Lyndon B Johnson, and the former South African president Nelson Mandela, among many others, exhibited significant subclinical autistic traits, and argued increase in male [[reproductive success]] associated with this status could explain some of the apparent increase in the prevalence of ASD in recent times. Overskied attempted to explain the discrepancy in the diagnosis of the disorder by sex by noting the reproductive success associated with high status is typically only found in men, with women's high status decreasing their reproductive success. He claims these subclinical autistic behaviors shared a common cause with actual autism, pre-natal [[testosterone]] exposure, per Baron-Cohen's extreme male brain theory. He also stated that the high cortisol levels often found in autistics may serve to inhibit the expression of such socially dominant behaviors in them, whereas the powerful figures he claimed exhibited sub-clinical autistic traits may not be subject to such high cortisol levels.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5005963/</ref>


Other theorists have examined autism through a [[life history]] framework, claiming that autism represents an extreme slow [[life history]] strategy (later age of reproduction, slower growth, focus on acquiring resources instead of early reproduction, and so on), with autistic traits perhaps being associated with the acquisition of specialized skills that may have served to enhance the eventual reproductive success of individuals that bore these traits in human's ancestral past. Some research has indeed indicated that autistic traits are associated with other traits that reflect a slow life history strategy, while schizotypic traits were found to possibly reflect a fast life history strategy.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513814000580</ref>
Other theorists have examined autism through a [[life history]] framework, claiming that autism represents an extreme slow [[life history]] strategy (later age of reproduction, slower growth, focus on acquiring resources instead of early reproduction, and so on), with autistic traits perhaps being associated with the acquisition of specialized skills that may have served to enhance the eventual reproductive success of individuals that bore these traits in human's ancestral past. Some research has indeed indicated that autistic traits are associated with other traits that reflect a slow life history strategy, while schizotypic traits were found to possibly reflect a fast life history strategy.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513814000580</ref>
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