males – ASF Weekly Science Podcasts

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Oxytocin treatment for social communication in ASD has been recntlyused by doctors, but mostly used by people using it on their own through a nasal spray. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a huge, if any, effect in randomized clinical trials. This week’s podcast investigates current research in both the oxytocin and vasopressin system in ASD, when changes start, and how oxytocin administration has different effects in autistic women vs. neurotypical women. Once again, clinicians can not assume that what works in people without ASD will work in those with a diagnosis.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32341146

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32188502

February 25, 2018February 26, 2018

What is true for males is not true for females

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This week’s podcast focuses on the Extreme Male Brain Theory of autism, originating from the idea that autism, in part, is a reflection of increased fetal testosterone levels. Amazingly, fetal testosterone levels are reflected in the length of the 2nd and 4th fingers and can be measured as a reflection of testosterone levels during pregnancy. Research, including those from a recent CDC study, have reinforced that elevated fetal testosterone levels play a role in autism in males, but not females. Differences in fetal testosterone across gender and diagnosis has also been observed in a study from Drexel University. What was observed in males is not observed in females. It doesn’t mean the theory is wrong, it means that what is true for one sex is not always true for the other.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29450837

September 4, 2015October 26, 2015

Females with autism and the idea of an ‘extreme male’ brain

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New studies were published this week highlighting differences, or lack of differences, in males and females with autism. This podcast explores one of these theories called the ‘Extreme Male Brain’ theory which is actively studied by Simon Baron-Cohen’s lab in the United Kingdom. While this theory suggests that males and females with autism are more alike than different, another study focused on those individuals with autism who were not diagnosed until later in life. Were they able to mask their symptoms for autism and slide under the radar and how? In this group, males and females are more different than alike, which reinforces the ideas that you can’t study people with autism without studying people without autism, and that the differences between males and females may be subtle, based on context, and time of life.