I've read about neanderthal and came crasy idea to me..

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As far as I'm aware we don't know how Neanderthals behaved, maybe they had the most empathy of any race there has ever been. Why do people assume Neanderthals had autistic traits?

I don't know for other people, I'm not scientist, just curious, read one post about neanderthals, them characteristics and find self in it, that post was clear for neanderthals, neither for autism, neither for asperger.. and simple asked one question. I was surprised when people start long discussion about for me strange "neanderthal theory" and whole time most of them totally ignore me.

It's interesting that you are coming to the defense of neanderthal intelligence...

I have no aversion to the theory of neanderthal DNA and more than I debate that we all evolved from simian-esque ancestors. I'm part monkey and part of two different human species. Ok. Doesn't really do anything for me one way or the other.

So, if ASD/AS is 'strongly male' - then why are there so many females on the spectrum? And many more stuck behind good old fashioned gender bias in getting dx'd. If sperm is the culprit in passing along autism then how do you account for mother/daughter connections in ASD dx's with fathers with no family history?

I really don't think increased maternal stress since the 60's (if that has actually happened) is responsible for the spike in diagnoses. The demographic where it is spiking is from mothers like myself- middle class women with professional jobs (such as in Silicon Valley) who wait to have kids until establishing a career. That really is a new development on a grand scale since the 60's (since the 70's on a really broad scale). There have been some studies that link autism somewhat with increased maternal age.

But the most stressed-out working mothers are the ones who don't really have careers as such. They have low-pay jobs that they have to keep to supplement the income of their husband's low-pay jobs. Autism diagnoses aren't spiking for them and they tend to have kids younger. But they are pretty stressed, just like their own working mothers and working grandmothers. They work to make ends meet as their families always have done.

I am going out on a limb with the assumption that the woman who works in IT and has her first child at 33 is less stressed than the woman who works at Walmart and has her first child at 19, but it's a limb I'm willing to go out on. And the autism diagnosis spike seems to be in the former group who have first child older and who (I think) are less stressed in general because of not living hand to mouth or working crappy jobs.

Your examples make sense to me; in general older mothers have the potential for genetic problems as well as older fathers, and there has been research that suggests this is the case for both older fathers and mothers in relation to incidence of autism. However, there are longitudinal studies that indicate that middle age women have become significantly more stressed in the last several decades.

I would imagine that many younger mothers experience higher levels of stress depending on the financial situation, but of course not all women that have children at a later age are in a good financial situation, either. But, genetic malfunction in later age may have a greater impact than higher stress at a young age. And in general a younger person is able to accommodate stress on a physical level better than one that is significantly older.

The mean age for both men and women in getting married and having children has risen significantly since the 1960's. Chances are both variables are at play if maternal stress, as research indicates, has an impact on the development of Autism.

Here is a link to a Swedish longitudinal study that suggests stress is rising among middle age women over the last few decades:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/06/08/middle-aged-women-more-stressed/6353.html

And also regarding work another relationship that has occured in the last 50 years:



In the Swedish study they don't indicate why the woman are more stressed since the 1980's, but the major impact of technology on the workplace environment started in the 1980's. There are also studies that indicate perceived levels of stress have increased among the entire population in the last five years because of stress.

That's what I think, but it is possible it could have happened but if it did happen, how do we know for sure if it has anything to do with various genetic disorders?

The scientific evidence shows a correlation between mutations in modern day gene variants of the Neanderthal version of the genes shared by chimpanzees. Mutations happen because of biological factors like age and environmental factors. At this point as far as I know, only mutations in the gene variants have been directly correlated to the genetic disorders listed in the research. The neanderthal genes had no direct impact on the genetic disorders as indicated in the research

I thought you were saying that you thought the autism gene came from neanderthals, sorry my mistake.

Some might of, but what happened to the original Neanderthals? Why did the hybrids survive while they did not? Also take into account the dark ages and the bubonic plague that wiped out much of Europe. Would it have any impact on the amount of Neanderthal DNA existing in modern man, since so many people died?
Another thing, can recessive genes repair themselves over generations so they are no longer recessive or do they stay that way forever and ever, until extinction?

All very good questions, I am interested to hear Slrtybartfast's response because it certainly opens a can of worms.

Professor Chris Stringer from Cambridge has been studying the evolution of Homo Sapiens and believes that Homo Sapiens that evolved outside of Africa were actually very violent. Around 50,000 yrs ago the fossil evidence for at least 14 different types of hominds vanished from the face of the earth (not just Neanderthals).

Lets assume the Neanderthals created a hybrid with the numerically larger Homo Sapiens then it actually doesn't make sense why there are no neanderthal female mDNA in modern humans in Europe.

No problem, mistake is in my post, I'm not precise and I already have answer, that first scientist still haven't strong proves what cause asperger, is asperger caused by different factors or has same factors with autism, are genes responsible or another factors, first they must solve this.

I've read this in many sites for asperger, but everywhere they give it like assumption with very little possibility.

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There was a guy who wrote an article in the New York times about this recent effect of efficient technology and how it's hurting us.

http://www.healthtree.com/news/research ... her-warns/

(I couldn't find the NYT article but this references it). I guess we're all incredibly stressed out and unhealthy and marinating in stress hormones for at least a decade before having kids. The incidence of every condition seems to be going up. Maybe everybody's stress is going up and it isn't just increased maternal stress.

Of course it isn't just the workplace. Today's stay-at-home mom is probably more stressed too. She has to spend a huge chunk of the day driving her kids from here to there and then sitting while they do whatever the activity is so she also gets sitting disease. Our modern lifestyle sucks. So we've established that!


(This has nothing to do with neanderthals. Sorry.)

Last edited by Janissy on 30 May 2011, 6:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

I LOVE NEANDERTHALS.

There was some interbreeding. Red hair is originally part of a Neanderthal genetic profile, also found ENTIRELY too much within the autistic community but I won't go there.

I think there are some aspies that act like Neanderthals.

Mee, mee!! !