Asperger's Syndrome and evolution

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I agree with that - it is probably more than one gene that influences AS traits. I was just using sickle cell as an analogy that was easy to understand - that it can be advantageous and/or disadvantageous, depending on the circumstances.

In other posts, I have compared ASD to heart disease, psoriasis, and other diseases that can involve many genes, and that can be significantly affected by the environment (diet, infections, vices, habits).

that's what would happen if aspies only bred with aspies........... define species b4 you say it couldnt happen

not saying i think it would because the breeding pools are not completely segregated.... resulting in merely having the genes be permenantly in our gene pool

check out "ring species" it totally could happen. just depends on who's having sex with whom

i dont even necessarily think a lot of the cause behind autism is in the genes themselves... but in the machinery regulating the expression of those genes... ie- you're not gonna associate all autisms with a mutation (perhaps some of the more severe types) because it's not the "autism gene" that's defective.... but some unknown regulatory gene that is way harder to necessarily correlate to anything specific, cause they don't know hardly anythign on these kinds of genes yet. that's not to say that you won't see mutations associated with autism.... caue whether you mis regulate or break the gene itself.... you get similar results. so start applying this to one or more of any of the genes that are possibly involved, and you start to see how many different types and causes of autism there are.

think of cancer (not trying to put neg. spin on autism, just an example).... there are so many different ways you can get cancer.... even of a specific type found only in one tissue and this same cancer is not always treatable the same way; it depends on how you got the cancer-- ie, what went wrong.... there are not cookie-cutter answers to this kind of stuff as there are "many ways to skin a cat".

AS is almost certainly polygenic. If it were due to a single gene, the symptoms would be much more clear cut. Anything that varies this much, and is classed as part of a spectrum, is pretty much bound to be polygenic.

Sometimes one little tweak can make a big difference. ALSO, not all AS people are identical. HECK, some people even said it was because of testosterone exposure. Frankly, I think that is crazy because a lot of things just don't add up there, but it shows how people feel a relatively minor thing can make all these changes.

An early testosterone exposure does not rule out a multiple gene factor. The testosterone process may be merely one element in a multiple gene process which also manipulates other factors. Of course, this is all speculation as I have no expertise in the matter.

I've heard this theory numerous times. I think it's neat.

this is creeping me. and not all people with as look younger than their physical age. some look older, and some act older.

Add to that that AS is part of an even larger spectrum that also includes many neurodiversity-diagnosises like AD/HD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Tourette, Dyslexia and Dyscalculia and it couldn't possibly be an "on/off"-flip. And it couldn't possibly be a future species either.

This is from an article written by Tony Attwood and Carol Grey. It describes the positive attributes of Asperger's

A qualitative advantage in social interaction, as manifested by a majority of the following:

- peer relationships characterized by absolute loyalty and impeccable dependability

- free of sexist, "age-ist", or culturalist biases; ability to regard others at "face value"

- speaking one’s mind irrespective of social context or adherence to personal beliefs

- ability to pursue personal theory or perspective despite conflicting evidence

- seeking an audience or friends capable of: enthusiasm for unique interests and topics;

- consideration of details; spending time discussing a topic that may not be of primary interest

- listening without continual judgement or assumption

- interested primarily in significant contributions to conversation; preferring to avoid "ritualistic small talk" or socially trivial statements and superficial conversation

- seeking sincere, positive, genuine friends with an unassuming sense of humor


Fluent in "Aspergerese", a social language characterized by at least three of the following:

- a determination to seek the truth

- conversation free of hidden meaning or agenda

- advanced vocabulary and interest in words

- fascination with word-based humor, such as puns

- advanced use of pictorial metaphor

Cognitive skills characterized by at least four of the following:

- strong preference for detail over gestalt

- original, often unique perspective in problem solving

- exceptional memory and/or recall of details often forgotten or disregarded by others, for example: names, dates, schedules, routines

- avid perseverance in gathering and cataloging information on a topic of interest

- persistence of thought

- encyclopedic or "CD ROM" knowledge of one or more topics

- knowledge of routines and a focused desire to maintain order and accuracy

- clarity of values/decision making unaltered by political or financial factors

Additional possible features:

- acute sensitivity to specific sensory experiences and stimuli, for example: hearing, touch, vision, and/or smell

- strength in individual sports and games, particularly those involving endurance or visual accuracy, including rowing, swimming, bowling, chess

- "social unsung hero" with trusting optimism: frequent victim of social weaknesses of others, while steadfast in the belief of the possibility of genuine friendship

- increased probability over general population of attending university after high school

- often take care of others outside the range of typical development

Helen

That is correct. There could be major controlling genes that can flip other genes on/off, but regardless of this, the controlled genes must still also be correlated with AS because of the wide spectrum.

A don't believe in the extreme-male-theory or testosterone exposure. Testosterone is only controlling other genes that are linked to male-female traits. It doesn't create these traits in itself. Since it is not as simple as all genes that are controlled by testosterone are triggered more than usual it must be the controlled genes that are different and testosterone is simply not the answer.

One objection to the idea that AS is an evolutionary step is that so many AS characteristics can be negative. But this merely reveals a misconception about evolution. A genetic complex merely presents the environment with a possible variation. The overwhelming bulk of mutations are not only negative, they are lethal. But on rare occasion a new variation provides the carrier with a distinct advantage. Complex variations may carry some negative characteristics but if the general change donates an advantage in a particular ecology it will survive in spite of some negative qualities and future variations have the opportunity to improve it even further. But random variations are not logical so there are many steps both back and forth in moving towards an advantageous characteristic. But the environment is a strict filter and eliminates variations that are negative. But it is important to remember that these are not hierarchal advances. They are merely accommodation to current environmental conditions.

I think the major objection is that many traits involve complex behavioral differences with no obvious adaptive function. Stims and other social & communication differences are like this. If it only were for our focusing abilities & creativity, the "evolutionary step" would be more credible.

Evolution favours genes that make it more likely that an organism will have more offspring that will themselves reproduce. From an evolutionay point of view, a poor subsistence farmer in the Third World with fifteen kids, or unemployable welfare moms with a dozen kids in the First World, are far more succesful than Bill Gates, most CEOs and most programmers, and Isaac Newton was a complete failure. Insects and bacteria are better examples of evolutionary masterpieces than human beings.
Since aspies often have difficulties socialising, and therefore finding a partner, it would seem that AS-related genes will eventually die out. As an aside, one hypothersis for the rising levels of reported autism is that it is caused by changes in dating patterns.

Yea, I had a full on beard when I was 15 and was told I could pass for 25.

I was carded for an R movies when I was 29. I turned to heavy drinking and smoking and sunbathing just to damage my skin and look like other people my age. (Kidding! But not the first sentence about being carded at 29)