Knickmeyer Rebecca, Baron-Cohen Simon, Fane Briony A, Wheelwright Sally, Mathews Greta A, Conway Gerard S, Brook Charles G D, Hines Melissa
Department of Psychology, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK.
Horm Behav. 2006 Jun;50(1):148-53. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.02.006. Epub 2006 Apr 19.
Testosterone promotes male-typical neural and behavioral development in non-human mammals. There is growing evidence that testosterone exerts similar influences on human development, although the range of behaviors affected is not completely known. This study examined the hypothesis that autistic traits are increased following prenatal exposure to abnormally high levels of testosterone caused by congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Sixty individuals with CAH (34 female, 26 male) and 49 unaffected relatives (24 female, 25 male) completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Females with CAH scored significantly higher than unaffected females on total AQ score, largely due to enhanced scores on subscales measuring social skills and imagination. These results suggest that prenatal exposure to high levels of testosterone influences some autistic traits and that hormonal factors may be involved in vulnerability to autism.
睾酮可促进非人类哺乳动物典型的神经和行为发育。越来越多的证据表明，睾酮对人类发育也有类似影响，尽管受影响的行为范围尚不完全清楚。本研究检验了这样一个假设：先天性肾上腺皮质增生症（CAH）导致产前暴露于异常高水平的睾酮会增加自闭症特质。60名患有CAH的个体（34名女性，26名男性）和49名未受影响的亲属（24名女性，25名男性）完成了自闭症谱系商数（AQ）测试。患有CAH的女性在AQ总分上显著高于未受影响的女性，这主要是由于在测量社交技能和想象力的子量表上得分提高。这些结果表明，产前暴露于高水平的睾酮会影响一些自闭症特质，并且激素因素可能与自闭症易感性有关。
