Abstract
BackgroundRecent research investigating the extreme male brain theory of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has drawn attention to the possibility that autistic type social difficulties may be associated with high prenatal testosterone exposure. This study aims to investigate the association between social communication and emotion recognition difficulties and second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) and circulating maternal testosterone during pregnancy in a large community-based cohort: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). A secondary aim is to investigate possible gender differences in the associations.MethodsData on social communication (Social and Communication Disorders Checklist, N = 7165), emotion recognition (emotional triangles, N = 5844 and diagnostics analysis of non-verbal accuracy, N = 7488) and 2D:4D (second to fourth digit ratio, N = 7159) were collected in childhood and early adolescence from questionnaires and face-to-face assessments. Complete data was available on 3515 children. Maternal circulating testosterone during pregnancy was available in a subsample of 89 children.ResultsMales had lower 2D:4D ratios than females [t (3513) = −9.775, p < 0.001]. An association was found between measures of social communication and emotion recognition, and the lowest 10 % of 2D:4D ratios. A significant association was found between maternal circulating testosterone and left hand 2D:4D [OR = 1.65, 95 % CI 1.1–2.4, p < 0.01].ConclusionsPrevious findings on the association between 2D:4D and social communication difficulties were not confirmed. A novel association between an extreme measure of 2D:4D in males suggests threshold effects and warrants replication.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0063-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Recent research investigating the extreme male brain theory of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has drawn attention to the possibility that autistic type social difficulties may be associated with high prenatal testosterone exposure
Digit ratio and social communication/emotion recognition After adjusting for multiple testing, no significant associations were found between 2D:4D ratios and Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy (DANVA) scores
There was no association between 2D:4D ratios and autistic traits, whether measured by ratings of behavior (SCDC) or by two distinctly different measures of emotion recognition (DANVA and emotional triangles)
Summary
Recent research investigating the extreme male brain theory of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has drawn attention to the possibility that autistic type social difficulties may be associated with high prenatal testosterone exposure. Barona et al Molecular Autism (2015) 6:68 has led to the hypothesis that the masculinizing effect of fetal testosterone may play a role in the development of ASD [11] This hypothesis is based on the extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism, which is part of the broader empathizing vs systemizing (E/S) theory of gender differences in cognitive styles in healthy subjects [12, 13]. This theory aims to explain the higher prevalence of ASD in males, and based on this, we would expect that children with ASD in general would have higher testosterone
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