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A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

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Re: A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

#11

Post by metadat »

thorncorona wrote: post #7

> In summary, we introduce a general principle governing neuronal evolution and suggest that the exceptionally high prevalence of autism in humans may be a direct result of natural selection for lower expression of a suite of genes that conferred a fitness benefit to our ancestors while also rendering an abundant class of neurons more sensitive to perturbation. I don't see how the title "Autism may be the price of hu…

It is a long paper, so not immediately obvious.

> The study links evolutionary neuroscience with neurodevelopmental disease, suggesting that the unusually high incidence of autism in humans might be a byproduct of selection shaping our brains.

> It suggests that key neuron types in the human brain are subject to particularly strong evolutionary pressures, especially in their regulatory landscapes.

> If valid, it opens a new lens through which to think about neurodiversity: certain vulnerabilities might be inextricable from the very changes that made human cognition distinctive

Re: A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

#12

Post by cultofmetatron »

dyauspitr wrote: post #9
mikert89 wrote: post #2

Pretty clear theres a tradeoff between social intelligence and other forms of intelligence

Einstein seemed to have absolutely no problems with his social life. Newton on the other hand lived and died alone, possibly a virgin.

Feynman was also very charismatic

Re: A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

#14

Post by marklar423 »

pizzafeelsright wrote: post #6

Is there a blood test for autism?

There are certain genetic markers you can test for, but not all forms of autism appear in the tests we have today.

Then there's things like the folate blocking antibody (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4783401/) which you can do a blood test for, but again not all people with autism have the antibody.

Re: A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

#15

Post by mrits »

dyauspitr wrote: post #9
mikert89 wrote: post #2

Pretty clear theres a tradeoff between social intelligence and other forms of intelligence

Einstein seemed to have absolutely no problems with his social life. Newton on the other hand lived and died alone, possibly a virgin.

It seems like there are a lot more gay guys than asexuals out there though.

Re: A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

#16

Post by hollerith »

dyauspitr wrote: post #9
mikert89 wrote: post #2

Pretty clear theres a tradeoff between social intelligence and other forms of intelligence

Einstein seemed to have absolutely no problems with his social life. Newton on the other hand lived and died alone, possibly a virgin.

In Western Europe in the 1600s, being a virgin didn't make you a loser in most people's eyes like it does now.

Newton had long friendships with other leading intellectual figures (Edmund Halley, John Locke, mathematician David Gregory).

Re: A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

#17

Post by margalabargala »

mavsman wrote: post #8

[flagged]

The article is about how the fundamental nature of intelligence has certain weaknesses that will manifest.

For example, a species sufficiently intelligent to discover acetaminophen is doomed to also create the sort of idiocy that is the current US administration.

Re: A human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying autism in humans

#19

Post by agentcoops »

There's an ambiguity in the title, reflected in some comments below. It can be understood either as the claim that "in a particular human being, to be intelligent as measured by IQ means that you are more likely to be autistic", suggesting for example a trade-off between social and general intelligence; or the claim that "the evolution of the human brain and so human intelligence as such, which characterizes both those of low and high IQ, entailed those genetic shifts that made autism a possibility for our species but not other primates." The paper argues a form of the latter.
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