Autism and Neoteny?

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Neoteny - the retention of juvenile traits into adulthood (Wikipedia)

Autistic brains fail to trip synapses in puberty - New York Times

In this article about autism in women, it is written:

which got me thinking about a possible link between autism and neoteny. There *does* seem to be something of a youthful appearance thing going on with autists, after all.

Testosterone supports synaptic pruning. It's interesting to note that autistic males have a more androgynous appearance, but similar testosterone levels to non-autistic males, suggesting that there may be reduced sensitivity to testosterone in autists?

What do you guys think?

there are several lines of thought you have in 1 thread and a lot of controversy in the testosterone effect.

I found the articles interesting, but they jump to conclusions based on 1 observation. and journalists usually have a poor grasp of the research they are writing about.

there is a saying in statistics

Correlation does not mean causality.

The more I look into what is autism, the less I am starting to think the experts know. They see something and want to assign meaning to the population of people formally diagnosed with autism, without even understanding their internal world. They make way too many assumptions. I learned more from everyone on the forum than the experts with websites.

I like my brain. I like my magical world. I like the creative thought and fun it brings. I like being childlike and looking 20 yrs younger. I like what I consider my animal like heightened senses. I do not care if I have too many synaptic connections. I would not want a drug thrown at me in childhood with unknown long term consequences to cure me of excess synaptic connections, especially since no one knows if that would fix the problem.

They very much want to turn characteristics of autism into a disease with a fix to make everyone conform.

Low testosterone is worsening in the general population and a huge source of unrecognized depression in guys. Guys are being poisoned by numerous toxins in our food, water, and environment. And so are women.

The cause of increased androgyny looks very multifactorial to me. too big a leap to blame on testosterone resistance due to autism. In related studies, they are trying to blame excess testosterone exposure in utero to autism. ok, where did they get that data since you don't know pre birth who will be diagnosed with autism?
these studies are poorly controlled and have leaping conclusions.

my 2 cents

LOL....I'm 57. I wish I looked 37.

Yep...There's all kind of speculation out there. In order to have "truth" there must first be "speculation." That's the unfortunate thing. We can't just stop coming up with hypotheses for the purpose of ultimately proving them.

Yes, people do jump to conclusions, and create for themselves false hopes based on this treatment and that treatment. This cause, and that cause.

I feel like the truth is that autism has multiple causes, and could be quite individual. It could be fully inherited, or it could be absolutely idiopathic. One person's sensory difficulty is another person's sensory delight. One could benefit from a gluten-free diet. Another person will benefit squat from that same diet.

Oh, I'm quite certain that "autism" is actually multiple conditions, that are lumped under one name due to sharing some key similarities. Unfortunately, because they're all called autism it's hard to actually get information about the causes - a gene variant will be implicated in "autism", but they won't say what kind of autism it is (Kanners vs Aspergers, for example). Which is probably a major reason why conflicting studies pin autism on too much of one thing and too little of it as well.

But, one thing that seems to be required for an autism diagnosis is retardation of maturation. Which is kind of what neoteny is.

just wanted to clarify something I said. Due to me, nothing anyone said.

I am not advocating testosterone injections for everyone to mature or develop. the shots run the risk of suppressing your own system and should be done through a health provider.
I do advocate trying natural ways to up testosterone such as by weight lifting or diet as examples. Not my focus. So best to research online how guys do this and what works without supplements or prescriptions.
testosterone levels are low in the population. That is why there is no normal control group. That is my problem with the study or concluding those with autism are more androgynous.

for instance chronic stress can lower testosterone and increase risk for obesity.
I have not encountered a single person on this forum who does not have chronic stress. Worst years were the school years when your body is developing.

real study would put people diagnosed before puberty and in the school years in a perfect loving and accepting environment. now compare their develpment to those attending regular school.
Never going to happen.

great recent finding about brains
Neuroplasticity. wikipedia actually does a good job summarizing.

our brains change based on what happens to them.


And why is neoteny bad? this whole society is looking for the fountain of youth. Then calling it a disease for those who have it. I really do not want to be them. Western society is confused.

Frankly, most autism studies are flawed because, like people are saying, the TYPE of autism never is mentioned.

What they are studying is a generalized condition called "autism." Which is erroneous.

I’m the opposite of the testosterone study. I have PCOS so I’ve had my testosterone levels monitored. They are usually elevated with PCOS but mine are normal even though I have many symptoms of elevated testosterone. An endocrinologist told me that my hormone receptors are likely very sensitive. I have a very feminine hourglass shape but I have a larger head and 4D is a bit longer than 2D. I do often feel like I have a very male brain. It’s hard not to when you’re one of 2 girls in a class of almost 100 learning about operating systems in university.

I didn’t know that weight lifting increases testosterone. I did a lot of weight lifting when I went through my rock climbing obsession years ago and I don’t think it raised mine at all.

I do act much younger than I am. I watch cartoons, have stuffed animals and like to dress in tight clothes with bright colours and stripes. I’m just learning to be responsible with my money in my 40s.

.

I've noted the youthful/neotenous appearance of aspies but i always considered it a personal observation and nothing that may have basis in the condition itself. However, several trait checklist do list "low muscle tone" as common

A girl i knew who im 90% sure had autism fell into the neotenous category. At 24 she was only 5'3. Low muscle tone and a voice like a prepubescent boy. Basically resembled a 12 year old tomboy. I myself and quite tall but usually mistaken for 18-20 years old whereas im 27.

I either have high testosterone or high sensitivity to it. I hit puberty early, would masturbate 5x a day on average, & I started losing the hair on my head in my mid 20s. I always lacked muscles thou because I never worked out or excerized much. Some people have thought I looked younger because they were factoring my mannerisms into account like the way I dress, my hair style, & how shy/awkward/different I acted. I also like some kid/child things so I don't think there is a link between low testosterone or reduced testosterone sensitivity & autism.