|
|
 |
 |
research project |
|
 |
|
| |
Foetal testosterone Longitudinal Study
 Rebecca Knickmeyer, Simon Baron-Cohen, Bonnie Auyeung, Emma Chapman, Lindsay Chura, Gerald Hackett, Erin Ingudomnukul, Rebecca Jones, Kevin Taylor, Malcolm Bang
We have been testing if foetal testosterone, measured in amniotic fluid obtained via amniocentesis, is associated with later psychological and neural development postnatally. So far we have only conducted studies of typical individual differences and found that foetal testosterone is inversely associated with social development, language development, and empathy; and that foetal testosterone is postively associated with systemizing and number of autistic traits. We are collaborating with the Serum Institute in Denmark to extend this study to test if elevated levels of foetal testosterone are associated with a later diagnosis of autism spectrum conditions. Results should be available by the end of 2008.
The rationale for testing foetal testosterone comes from animal studies which suggest this hormone, prenatally, masculinizes the brain. Given the sex ratio in autism and Asperger Syndrome, and the masculinized cognitive profile reported in studies of empathy and systemizing in people with these diagnoses, foetal testosterone may be an important candidate biological mechanism to help understand the phenotype.
|
References:
362
E. Chapman, S. Baron-Cohen, B. Auyeung, R. Knickmeyer, K. Taylor and G. Hackett, (2006)
Foetal testosterone and empathy: evidence from the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' Test'
Social Neuroscience 1(2):135-148
|
330
B. Auyeung, S. Baron-Cohen, E. Chapman, R. Knickmeyer, K. Taylor and G. Hackett, (2006)
Foetal testosterone and the Child Systemizing Quotient (SQ-C)
European Journal of Endrocrinology 155:123-130
|
232
R. Knickmeyer, S. Baron-Cohen, P. Raggatt and K. Taylor, (2005)
Foetal testosterone, social cognition, and restricted interests in children
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45:1-13
|
226
S. Baron-Cohen, S. Lutchmaya and R. Knickmeyer
Prenatal testosterone in mind : amniotic fluid studies
MIT/Bradford Books, 2004
|
180
S. Lutchmaya, S. Baron-Cohen and P. Raggatt, (2002)
Foetal testosterone and vocabulary size in 18- and 24-month-old infants
Infant Behavior and Development 24(4):418-424
|
179
S. Lutchmaya, S. Baron-Cohen and P. Raggatt, (2002)
Foetal testosterone and eye contact in 12 month old infants
Infant Behavior and Development 25:327-335
|
159
J. Manning, S. Baron-Cohen, S. Wheelwright and G. Sanders, (2001)
Autism and the ratio between 2nd and 4th digit length
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 43:160-164
|
search for more publications
|
|
|
