Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Autism Res. 2012 Aug;5(4):221-30. doi: 10.1002/aur.1230. Epub 2012 Jun 1.
Prenatal testosterone (PT) effects have been proposed to increase systemizing (the drive to understand lawful input-output relationships), to decrease empathizing (the drive to understand others), and to cause autism via hypermasculinization of the brain. Digit ratio 2D:4D is a putative marker of PT effects in humans. An online study (n = 1896) into the relationship between the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (a widely used measure of empathizing) and self-measured 2D:4D in a nonclinical sample is reported. No evidence for a link between empathizing and 2D:4D in either females or males emerged. Further, three meta-analyses are presented that look into the relationships of 2D:4D with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), systemizing, and empathizing. 2D:4D was substantially lower (more masculine) in ASD-affected individuals than in normal controls (d = -0.58, P < 0.001). However, 2D:4D was found to be virtually unrelated to systemizing and empathizing in normal adults. The results support the idea that high PT is a risk factor for autism, but they challenge the view that PT substantially contributes to sex differences in systemizing and empathizing. Possibly, this pattern reflects an interaction effect, whereby PT drives ASD characteristic changes only in brains with a specific damage.
产前睾酮（PT）效应被认为会增加系统思维（理解有规律的输入-输出关系的驱动力），降低同理心（理解他人的驱动力），并通过大脑过度男性化导致自闭症。2D:4D 数字比是人类 PT 效应的一个假定标志物。报告了一项在线研究（n=1896），研究了阅读眼睛测试（一种广泛用于衡量同理心的测试）与非临床样本中自我测量的 2D:4D 之间的关系。无论是女性还是男性，都没有证据表明同理心与 2D:4D 之间存在联系。此外，还进行了三项荟萃分析，研究了 2D:4D 与自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）、系统思维和同理心的关系。与正常对照组相比，受 ASD 影响的个体的 2D:4D 明显较低（更男性化）（d=-0.58，P<0.001）。然而，在正常成年人中，2D:4D 与系统思维和同理心几乎没有关系。研究结果支持高 PT 是自闭症风险因素的观点，但它们挑战了 PT 对系统思维和同理心性别差异有重大贡献的观点。可能，这种模式反映了一种相互作用效应，即只有在具有特定损伤的大脑中，PT 才会驱动 ASD 特征变化。
