Have YOU been tested for Neanderthal genes?

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I might someday, but I was curious if any aspies DIDN'T have much Neanderthal DNA, to counter the theory. I'm interested in both sides to the concept. Yes, it sounds silly, but on the other hand the DNA is there. But is it really higher in ASD folks?

I would love to. But how?

I don't think autistics are any more Neaderthal than your average European.
Anyone from Europe, America, Asia and Australasia have quite a bit of Neanderthal in them, those who are exclusively Negroid/from East and Central Africa have pretty much just stayed homo sapien all the way.
Really humans are made up of lots of different subspecies when you think about it, someone from China is miles apart physiologically than someone from Mexico.

You can pay to have the test done. There are probably several labs that can run it for you.

Yes, but do aspies have any higher percentage on average than non-aspies?

Hmmm...I thought most of the neanderthal genes ended up in the social conservative movement...

My first reaction is that NT's are more like primitive species (groupthink, herd/gang mentality, etc.) than aspies are, from a behavioral standpoint. The neanderthals must have heavily depended on nonverbal communication also, which aspies suck at.

The real granddaddy of all working scientists today was not galileo, nor newton, nor copernicus, but a certain smooth talking Italian sailor with no science diploma who managed to talk certain powers-at-be into giving him a research grant. This first ever research grant in human history was to test the sailor's theory that the edge of asia was only six hundred miles west of the Azores- and thus an easy hop by boat from western europe. Folks laughed at him.

But he got the grant and bought three ships- and tested his theory by sailing west in 1492.
And guess what!

The folks who laughed at him were proved RIGHT! They all thought that the planet had to be much bigger than this crazy Italian said it was, and they were proved right ( asia starts 12 thousand miles west of the Azores).

It was a friggin' dumb theory. But in the act of testing his theory the guy accidently stumbled upon two new huge continents that were previously unknown.

Anyway.
The Neanderthal theory of autism/aspergers is in, in my opinion, probably like columbus's small earth theory. Probably wrong, but interesting, and worth looking into nontheless. Its the kind of thing that may cause us to stumble upon a new continent or two even if its wrong.

It costs money to get your genes tested. So far only rockstars like ozzy osbourne can afford it. He found that he had some significant smidgen of neanderthal DNA ( he has dyslexia but I doubt that he has autism-he seems more adhd in personality than aspie to me).

There is a certain logic to the neanderthal-autism link theory. But I agree with the op that you could just as easily argue the opposite notion.

Perhaps autistics and aspies are less primate and are more Sapien than most homo sapiens! The fact that we miss social cues fail to read body language and take verbal comunication too litereally shows that we are less monkey like- than most people - and are sort of inbred over sapien sapiens. This might mean that we have a pausity of archaic homid genes, and not an over supply of them.We are farther from the apes than NT's- and thats the problem with us!

Just a thought.

I probably dont have any neanderthal genes.

But my daughter does think that on occasions, I am a barbarian.

I've had a lot of tests, but I can say for certain such has never been tested.

I have no idea why it would be either.

Well yes, we might be something completely new instead, but older subspecies (species, races whatever) are not necessarily something to disdain.
The neanderthal as stupid or primitive compared to coexisting homo sapiens has been debunked time and time again from several different angles. That is what the word has come to mean today, but no modern science describes them that way anymore and there are lots of evidence to the contrary. Also, evolution is not a climb to the most un-monkey like creature - what's that about monkeys and barbarians? Neanderthals were pretty sophisticated for the time.
The worlds first cave-painters might have been neanderthals:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/ ... paintings/


Couldn't find the article I was looking for but this one will do (from before they knew about the DNA);

There's also the theory that egyptians made it over and brought their pyramid building to south america. I made a presentation in school about that. Some norwegian scientific adventurer even built an egyptian boat and made it over the atlantic ocean. But gene research says that this hypothesis is very unlikely to be true.

Oh, I went too off topic I guess...

I always thought that those people with large brow ridges are the ones with more neanderthal genes - or is it possible that these are passed on recessively?
But I can't say how this relates to autism - I don't know any aspies or autists with large brow ridges...

EDIT: And no, I've not been tested. I have no large brow ridges either!