Re: Autism theory on brains sparks debate

[Guest guest]

Are there more men with Alzheimer's than women? Is it the same ratio

as autism?

Debi

--- In , " jplanet94 " <jplanet94@y...>

the author interviewed Boyd Haley, U of

> Kentucky biochemist who researches heavy-metal neurotoxicology and

> wrote that " ...when he added estrogen to a petri dish of

thimerosal

> and brain cells, the hormone reduced the rate of brain cells

killed

> by thimerosal, whereas adding testosterone dramatically increased

the

> death rate. " Facilitated.

[Guest guest]

My guess is there are more women with Alzheimer's but probably

because most men die before the average male onset age.

Janet

> Are there more men with Alzheimer's than women? Is it the same

ratio

> as autism?

>

> Debi

>

> --- In , " jplanet94 "

<jplanet94@y...>

> the author interviewed Boyd Haley, U of

> > Kentucky biochemist who researches heavy-metal neurotoxicology

and

> > wrote that " ...when he added estrogen to a petri dish of

> thimerosal

> > and brain cells, the hormone reduced the rate of brain cells

> killed

> > by thimerosal, whereas adding testosterone dramatically increased

> the

> > death rate. " Facilitated.

[Guest guest]

Same here. My daughter is the affected one too, not my son. For so

long, I've heard people say, " Boys are like this and girls are like

that " ....maybe they should say " most " or " some " but not just

generalize boys and girls into definite categories...just my opinion.

Things like this bug me sometimes because in our family, things are

so different than what many would consider " normal " ...

Gretchen

> Unfortunately, the autism affected my daughter, not my son.

> > Autism Theory on Brains Sparks Debate

>

>

> News - Autism Theory on Brains Sparks Debate

> http://story.news./news?

tmpl=story & cid=534 & e=2 & u=/ap/20040401/ap_on

> _he_me/autism_male_brain

>

> Health - AP

> Autism Theory on Brains Sparks Debate

>

> Thu Apr 1, 7:29 AM ET

>

> By RON TODT, Associated Press Writer

> PHILADELPHIA - Cambridge University professor Simon Baron-Cohen

thinks he

> knows why autism strikes four times as many boys as girls, but his

theory of

> general differences between male and female brains has generated

quite a bit

> of debate.

>

> Baron-Cohen theorizes that the female brain is predominantly hard-

wired for empathy, and that the male brain is predominantly hard-

wired for understanding and building systems â? " although he is

quick to note that the rule doesn't always hold true.

>

> According to his " empathizing-systemizing " theory, autism â? " a

neurological disorder that affects social interaction and

communication â? " and the possibly related Asperger syndrome are

extreme male versions of the brain.

>

> " What seems to be core (to autism) is an empathy problem alongside

a very

> strong drive to systemize, " he told an audience of about 150 people

> Wednesday at an autism conference by the Bancroft Neuroscience

Institute.

>

> Baron-Cohen cites evidence from questionnaires, psychological

tests and

> observations of very young children showing early sex differences.

Even

> day-old baby boys, for example, are more likely to look longer at a

> mechanical mobile, while girls look longer at a person's face.

>

> Autistic-type disorders, he said, appear to be an extreme version

of the

> male brain. What causes such a shift is unclear, he said, but

possible

> candidates include genetic differences and prenatal testosterone.

High

> levels of fetal testosterone mean less eye contact on the part of

infants,and Canadian researchers have found that such levels mean

better scores on systemizing tests, he said.

>

> Baron-Cohen said his ideas and his new book " The Essential

Difference: The Truth About the Male and Female Brain, " had been

greeted with interest rather than the hostility he feared

after " decades of political correctness "

> in which the idea of any biological sex differences was anathema.

>

> " Some individuals have contacted me to say that this kind of work

is politically dangerous, so that reaction is still there, " he

said. " Typically the individuals who are worried by this approach

haven't actually looked at the details of the science. "

>

> He emphasized that the male and female brains exist only on

average.

>

> " It would be a great shame if people took home the idea that all

males think one way and all females think the other way, " he said.

Instead, educators should assess each individual child to see if,

for example, they are good at math but may have trouble on the

playground, he said.

>

> Researchers have come up with educational software to try to help

raise the emotional abilities of autistic children, and a study of

the approach should be finished in the next few months, he said.

>

> Martha R. Herbert, an assistant professor in neurology at Harvard

Medical

> School (news - web sites), said Baron-Cohen's observations were

interesting,but still had not identified a biological process

responsible for autism.

>

> " As to whether there's some core thing about male or femaleness

that's related to autism, I doubt it, " she said. " I think that it

just distracts attention from getting at some of the more core

issues of how the disorder works both psychologically and

biologically. "

>

> A British researcher, for example, has found that the sex ratio

was equal in autistic blind children, and that there is a different

sex ratio in high IQ versus low IQ people with autism. " So it's not

just a male thing; there's something else going on, " she said.

>

> Work focusing on high levels of testosterone may be more

revealing, but is still not the end of the story, Herbert said.

>

> " The testosterone may be facilitating something rather than

causing it, " she said.

[Guest guest]

Dear Gretchen,

Is your daughter the 1st born or 2nd? My NT son is 18 and just

turned 15.

Autism Theory on Brains Sparks Debate

>

>

> News - Autism Theory on Brains Sparks Debate

> http://story.news./news?

tmpl=story & cid=534 & e=2 & u=/ap/20040401/ap_on

> _he_me/autism_male_brain

>

> Health - AP

> Autism Theory on Brains Sparks Debate

>

> Thu Apr 1, 7:29 AM ET

>

> By RON TODT, Associated Press Writer

> PHILADELPHIA - Cambridge University professor Simon Baron-Cohen

thinks he

> knows why autism strikes four times as many boys as girls, but his

theory of

> general differences between male and female brains has generated

quite a bit

> of debate.

>

> Baron-Cohen theorizes that the female brain is predominantly hard-

wired for empathy, and that the male brain is predominantly hard-

wired for understanding and building systems â? " although he is

quick to note that the rule doesn't always hold true.

>

> According to his " empathizing-systemizing " theory, autism â? " a

neurological disorder that affects social interaction and

communication â? " and the possibly related Asperger syndrome are

extreme male versions of the brain.

>

> " What seems to be core (to autism) is an empathy problem alongside

a very

> strong drive to systemize, " he told an audience of about 150 people

> Wednesday at an autism conference by the Bancroft Neuroscience

Institute.

>

> Baron-Cohen cites evidence from questionnaires, psychological

tests and

> observations of very young children showing early sex differences.

Even

> day-old baby boys, for example, are more likely to look longer at a

> mechanical mobile, while girls look longer at a person's face.

>

> Autistic-type disorders, he said, appear to be an extreme version

of the

> male brain. What causes such a shift is unclear, he said, but

possible

> candidates include genetic differences and prenatal testosterone.

High

> levels of fetal testosterone mean less eye contact on the part of

infants,and Canadian researchers have found that such levels mean

better scores on systemizing tests, he said.

>

> Baron-Cohen said his ideas and his new book " The Essential

Difference: The Truth About the Male and Female Brain, " had been

greeted with interest rather than the hostility he feared

after " decades of political correctness "

> in which the idea of any biological sex differences was anathema.

>

> " Some individuals have contacted me to say that this kind of work

is politically dangerous, so that reaction is still there, " he

said. " Typically the individuals who are worried by this approach

haven't actually looked at the details of the science. "

>

> He emphasized that the male and female brains exist only on

average.

>

> " It would be a great shame if people took home the idea that all

males think one way and all females think the other way, " he said.

Instead, educators should assess each individual child to see if,

for example, they are good at math but may have trouble on the

playground, he said.

>

> Researchers have come up with educational software to try to help

raise the emotional abilities of autistic children, and a study of

the approach should be finished in the next few months, he said.

>

> Martha R. Herbert, an assistant professor in neurology at Harvard

Medical

> School (news - web sites), said Baron-Cohen's observations were

interesting,but still had not identified a biological process

responsible for autism.

>

> " As to whether there's some core thing about male or femaleness

that's related to autism, I doubt it, " she said. " I think that it

just distracts attention from getting at some of the more core

issues of how the disorder works both psychologically and

biologically. "

>

> A British researcher, for example, has found that the sex ratio

was equal in autistic blind children, and that there is a different

sex ratio in high IQ versus low IQ people with autism. " So it's not

just a male thing; there's something else going on, " she said.

>

> Work focusing on high levels of testosterone may be more

revealing, but is still not the end of the story, Herbert said.

>

> " The testosterone may be facilitating something rather than

causing it, " she said.