Why are autism spectrum conditions more prevalent in males?
Why are autism spectrum conditions more prevalent in males?
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pbio.1001081
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发表时间：
2011-06
期刊：
影响因子：
9.8
通讯作者：
Knickmeyer R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Baron-Cohen S;Lombardo MV;Auyeung B;Ashwin E;Chakrabarti B;Knickmeyer R
自闭症谱系障碍（ASC）在男性中更为常见，这种偏见可能为这种疾病的病因提供线索。虽然这种偏见的原因仍然是一个谜，我们认为，它的发生是因为ASC是男性大脑的极端表现。极端男性脑（EMB）理论于1997年首次提出，是典型性别差异的移情-系统化（E-S）理论的延伸，该理论认为女性平均具有更强的移情驱动力，而男性平均具有更强的系统化驱动力。在2005年以来的第一次重大更新中，我们描述了一些与ASC的EMB理论相关的证据，并考虑了大脑结构中典型的性别差异可能与ASC相关。一个可能的生物学机制来解释男性偏好是胎儿睾酮（fT）的影响。我们还考虑了其他的生物学理论，X和Y染色体理论，以及减少常染色体易位理论。这些理论尚未得到完全证实或反驳，尽管支持fT理论的证据的权重正在从融合来源（从怀孕到10岁的纵向子宫内膜穿刺术研究，目前的激素研究和性类固醇途径中SNP的遗传关联研究）中增长。最终，由于这些理论并不相互排斥，ASC是多因素的，它们可能有助于解释ASC的男性患病率。
Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are much more common in males, a bias that may offer clues to the etiology of this condition. Although the cause of this bias remains a mystery, we argue that it occurs because ASC is an extreme manifestation of the male brain. The extreme male brain (EMB) theory, first proposed in 1997, is an extension of the Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) theory of typical sex differences that proposes that females on average have a stronger drive to empathize while males on average have a stronger drive to systemize. In this first major update since 2005, we describe some of the evidence relating to the EMB theory of ASC and consider how typical sex differences in brain structure may be relevant to ASC. One possible biological mechanism to account for the male bias is the effect of fetal testosterone (fT). We also consider alternative biological theories, the X and Y chromosome theories, and the reduced autosomal penetrance theory. None of these theories has yet been fully confirmed or refuted, though the weight of evidence in favor of the fT theory is growing from converging sources (longitudinal amniocentesis studies from pregnancy to age 10 years old, current hormone studies, and genetic association studies of SNPs in the sex steroid pathways). Ultimately, as these theories are not mutually exclusive and ASC is multi-factorial, they may help explain the male prevalence of ASC.
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影响因子：
10.5
作者：
Baron-Cohen, Simon;Scott, Fiona J.;Brayne, Carol
通讯作者：
Brayne, Carol
影响因子：
3.9
作者：
Auyeung, Bonnie;Wheelwright, Sally;Baron-Cohen, Simon
通讯作者：
Baron-Cohen, Simon
DOI：
10.1098/rstb.2002.1206
发表时间：
2003-02-28
期刊：
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON SERIES B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
影响因子：
--
作者：
Baron-Cohen, S;Richler, J;Wheelwright, S
通讯作者：
Wheelwright, S
影响因子：
4
作者：
Auyeung, Bonnie;Baron-Cohen, Simon;Hackett, Gerald
通讯作者：
Hackett, Gerald
影响因子：
3.9
作者：
Baron-Cohen, S;O'Riordan, M;Plaisted, K
通讯作者：
Plaisted, K