ERIC Number: EJ787413
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Mar
Pages: 9
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: N/A
Visuo-Spatial Processing in Autism--Testing the Predictions of Extreme Male Brain Theory
Falter, Christine M.; Plaisted, Kate C.; Davis, Greg
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v38 n3 p507-515 Mar 2008
It has been hypothesised that autism is an extreme version of the male brain, caused by high levels of prenatal testosterone (Baron-Cohen 1999). To test this proposal, associations were assessed between three visuo-spatial tasks and prenatal testosterone, indexed in second-to-fourth digit length ratios (2D:4D). The study included children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD (N = 28), and chronological as well as mental age matched typically-developing children (N = 31). While the group with ASD outperformed the control group at Mental Rotation and Figure-Disembedding, these group differences were not related to differences in prenatal testosterone level. Previous findings of an association between Targeting and 2D:4D were replicated in typically-developing children and children with ASD. The implications of these results for the extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism are discussed.
Descriptors: Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Brain, Spatial Ability, Visual Perception, Children, Comparative Analysis, Matched Groups, Prenatal Influences, Theories
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A