Digit ratio, prenatal testosterone and autism (in women)

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This just occurred to me as I made my last post. I'm posting in the women's forum because hopefully only women respond, since men typically have a longer 4th digit even without autism.

So there is the idea that autism represents a hyper-masculinized brain due to prenatal androgen (e.g. testosterone) exposure.

Finger digit ratio correlates with prenatal androgen exposure, with a longer 4th digit relative to 2nd digit indicating more prenatal testosterone exposure. Look here for a diagram of which fingers I am talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digit_ratio

This made me wonder if there is a link between digit ratio and autism (which would be evidence in support of the masculine-brain hypothesis).

When I looked it up, it seems that an experiment like this has not been done (although please let me know if it has been, I'd be very curious to know the results).

Obviously this poll will not amount to a controlled experiment so little can be concluded from it, but I thought it would be interesting to throw out there!

According to my fingers, I was exposed to a lot of testosterone before I was born.

DO NOT OVERCOMPLICATE THIS... JUST HOLD UP YOUR HAND WITH FINGERS STRAIGHT LIKE IN THE PICTURE ON THE WEBPAGE I PROVIDED AND SEE WHICH IS LONGER

Last edited by Koko23 on 29 Jun 2011, 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Am I going to need to measure my fingers?

No measurement, its just a simple comparison: is the 4th digit longer, 2nd digit longer, or 4th and 2nd are equal?

See the link for a diagram of which fingers I'm talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digit_ratio

About the same length. It depends how I position my hand though, but that's what I got when I positioned it in the way the person in the photo you provided did. If I hold my hand straight up, my index finger is longer than my ring finger by quite a bit.

Interesting thread, Koko.

For what it's worth: I am not formally diagnosed with AS (I am in my 40's and wasn't tested as a child), but my AQ is 35-36 and after much long, intense reflection on my life I am quite convinced I am on the spectrum. It all seems to make a lot of sense.

Digits 2 & 4 are the same length on my left hand, but the 4th is longer than the 2nd on my right hand.

So, given the above information, I have chosen the first option (have AS/4th digit longer).

So far this is interesting... I did this test once in a room full of "neurotypicals" (presumably... no reason to suspect anyone had ASD, they all seemed like pretty normal girls and given ASD is rare in girls, I'm willing to bet I was the only one on the spectrum).

Well, out of 20 girls, only 3 (including me) had a longer 4th digit. So far there is a pretty strong bias toward longer 4th digits in the ASD girls here.

Cool

Hmm this is an interesting question. I never knew about a correlation between finger size and ASD. Oh and I like that you included an option for folks who are missing fingers. hehe

Huh.
My ring finger is nearly an inch longer than my index finger.
Also, I score higher on "male-brained" tests than most autistic males.

actually, I have most of the traits associated with very high testosterone levels, although I have never actually had the levels tested.

my ring finger is longer in both hands

My ring finger is smaller by nearly an inch.

I have AS.

I don't have a diagnosis, although I suspect AS, so I didn't want to spoil the poll by voting. Both of my ring fingers are slightly longer than my index fingers (by about 3mm).

I've heard this informal "test" being used to show that lesbians were exposed to more testosterone in the womb (generally the lesbians I've talked to do, in fact, have longer 4th than 2nd digits), but it never occurred to me to link it with ASD. My 4th finger is significantly longer than my 2nd (7-8 mm or so). I am indeed quite masculine and I'm always fighting it, trying to act and appear feminine, but it'll never feel natural to me. Makes it tough to score with the fellas!

I've got diagnosed autism and both my ring fingers are quite noticeably longer than my index fingers!

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Well everyone, the study has already been done. I should have used google scholar when I did my initial search.

http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/doc ... g_etal.pdf

So the link between 2nd and 4th digit ratio does exist. Shoot, I was hoping I'd get to discover it.

Diagnosed AS and both ring fingers noticeably longer than index fingers, and on my right hand the ring finger is much longer than index finger. I am not at all masculine and I am hetrosexual, I look very feminine but am very thin and am an extreme ectomorph. However, I do not feel like a woman, nor do I feel like a man......more like some sort of......creature.

4th digit, ring finger, significantly longer on both hands.