Many early-onset neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism, affect mores males than females. Why? Does this factor matter in terms of pointing towards different mechanisms, clinical features, or ways of adapting over the lifespan? How can a more balanced perspective for studying autism affect how we understand such neurodevelopmental conditions?
Relevant Publications
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Auyeung, B., Chakrabarti, B., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Sex/gender differences and autism: Setting the scene for future research. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54, 11-24.
Trakoshis, S., Martinez-Canada, P., et al., & Lombardo, M. V. (2020). Intrinsic excitation-inhibition imbalance affects medial prefrontal cortex differently in autistic men versus women. eLife, 9, e55684.
Lombardo, M. V., et al., (2020). Sex-specific impact of prenatal androgens on social brain default mode subsystems. Molecular Psychiatry, 25, 2175-2188.
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Suckling, J., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Chakrabarti, B., Ecker, C., Deoni, S. C., Craig, M. C., Murphy, D. G. M., Bullmore, E. T., MRC AIMS Consortium, & Baron-Cohen, S. (2013). Biological sex affects the neurobiology of autism. Brain, 136, 2799-2815.
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., et al., (2019). Neural self-representation in autistic women and association with compensatory camouflaging. Autism, 23, 1210-1223.
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Chakrabarti, B., Auyeung, B., MRC AIMS Consortium, Szatmari, P., Happe, F., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2017). Quantifying and exploring ‘camouflaging’ in men and women with autism. Autism, 21, 690-702.
Baron-Cohen, S., et al., & Lombardo, M. V. (2015). Elevated fetal steroidogenic activity in autism. Molecular Psychiatry, 20, 369-376.
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Pasco, G., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Wheelwright, S. J., Sadek, S. A., Chakrabarti, B., MRC AIMS Consortium, & Baron-Cohen, S. (2011). A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions. PLoS One, 6(6), e20835.
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Chakrabarti, B., Wheelwright, S. J., Auyeung, B., Allison, C., MRC AIMS Consortium, Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Cognition in males and females with autism: Similarities and differences. PLoS One, 7(10), e47198.
