Testing the 'extreme female brain' theory of psychosis in adults with autism spectrum disorder with or without co-morbid psychosis

PLoS ONE

Volumn 10, Issue 6, 2015, Pages

  Larson, Felicity V ^a   Lai, Meng Chuan ^b,c   Wagner, Adam P ^a,d   Baron Cohen, Simon ^b,d,e   Holland, Anthony J ^a,d,e  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

^c NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL   (Taiwan)

^d NIHR CLAHRC East of England   (United Kingdom)

^e CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND PETERBOROUGH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADULT; ARTICLE; AUTISM; COGNITION; COGNITIVE BIAS; COMORBIDITY; EMPATHY; EXTREME FEMALE BRAIN; FEMALE; HUMAN; HYPOMANIA; INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; MANIA; PSYCHOSIS; SEX DIFFERENCE; ADOLESCENT; AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER; BRAIN; PATHOPHYSIOLOGY; PERSONALITY; PSYCHOLOGY; YOUNG ADULT;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER; BRAIN; COMORBIDITY; EMPATHY; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; PERSONALITY; PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 84936797104     PISSN: None     EISSN: 19326203     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128102     Document Type: Article

References (54)

1. Baron-Cohen S. The extreme male brain theory of autism. TRENDS Cogn Sci. 2002; 6(6): 248-54. PMID: 12039606
2. Asperger H. Die autistischen psychopathen' im kindesalter. Arch Psychiat Nervenkr. 1944; 117,:76-136.
3. Baron-Cohen S, Richler J, Bisarya D, Gurunathan N, Wheelwright S. The systemizing quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Philos T Roy Soc B. 2003; 358: 361-74. PMID: 12639333
4. Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S. The Empathy Quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and normal sex differences. J Autism Dev Disord. 2004; 34(2): 163-75. PMID: 15162935
5. Baron-Cohen S, Cassidy S, Auyeung B, Allison C, Achoukhi M, Robertson S, et al. Attenuation of Typical Sex Differences in 800 Adults with Autism vs. 3,900 Controls. PloS One. 2014; 9(7): e102251. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102251 PMID: 25029203
6. Baron-Cohen S, Lombardo MV, Auyeung B, Ashwin E, Chakrabarti B, Knickmeyer R. Why are autism spectrum conditions more prevalent in males? PLoS Biology. 2001; 9(6): e1001081. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001081 PMID: 21695109
7. Bejerot S, Eriksson JM, Bonde S, Carlström K, Humble MB, Eriksson E. The extreme male brain revisited: gender coherence in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Brit J Psychiat. 2012; 201(2):116-23.
8. Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Suckling J, Ruigrok AN, Chakrabarti B, Ecker C, et al. Biological sex affects the neurobiology of autism. Brain. 2013; 136(9): 2799-815.
9. Baron-Cohen S, Auyeung B, Nørgaard-Pedersen B, Hougaard DM, Abdallah MW, Melgaard L, et al. Elevated fetal steroidogenic activity in autism. Mol Psychiat. 2014. Advanced online publication. doi: 10.1038/mp.2014.48
10. Dammann G. Borderline personality disorder and theory of mind: an evolutionary perspective. In: Brüne M, Ribbert H, Schiefenhövel W, editors. The Social Brain: Evolution and Pathology. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons; 2003. p. 373-417.
11. Zahn-Waxler C, Shirtcliff EA, Marceau K. Disorders of childhood and adolescence: gender and psychopathology. Ann Rev Clin Psychol. 2008; 4: 275-303.
12. Crespi B, Badcock C. Psychosis and autism as diametrical disorders of the social brain. Behav Brain Sci. 2008; 31: 241-61. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X08004214 PMID: 18578904
13. Gazzaniga MS. The social brain: Discovering the networks of the mind. New York, NY: Basic Books; 1985.
14. Baron-Cohen S. Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 1997.
15. Brosnan M, Ashwin C, Walker I, Donaghue J. Can an "Extreme Female Brain" be characterised in terms of psychosis? Pers Indiv Differ. 2010; 49: 738-42.
16. Montag C, Dziobek I, Richter IS, Neuhaus K, Lehmann A, Sylla R, et al. Different aspects of theory of mind in paranoid schizophrenia: Evidence from a video-based assessment. Psychiat Res. 2011; 186 (2-3): 203-9.
17. Crespi B, Stead P, Elliot M. Comparative genomics of autism and schizophrenia. P Nat A Sci USA. 2010; 107 (suppl. 1): 1736-41. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0906080106 PMID: 19955444
18. Starling J, Dossetor D. Pervasive developmental disorders and psychosis. Cur Psychiat Rep. 2009; 11: 190-6.
19. Skoukaskas N, Gallagher L. Psychosis, affective disorders, and anxiety in autistic spectrum disorder: prevalence and nosological considerations. Psychopathology. 2010; 43(1): 8-16. doi: 10.1159/000255958 PMID: 19893339
20. Fanous A, Gardner C, Walsh D, Kendler KS. Relationship between positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and schizotypal symptoms in nonpsychotic relatives. Arch Gen Psychiat. 2001; 58 (7): 669-73. PMID: 11448374
21. Schürhoff F, Laguerre A, Szöke A, Méary A, Leboyer M. Schizotypal dimensions: continuity between schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Schiz Res. 2005; 80 (2-3): 235-42.
22. Langdon R, Coltheart M. Mentalising, schizotypy, and schizophrenia. Cognition. 1999; 71 (1): 43-71. PMID: 10394709
23. Dinsdale NL, Hurd PL, Wakabayashi A, Elliot M, Crespi BJ. How are autism and schizotypy related? Evidence from a non-clinical population. PLoS ONE. 2013; 8 (5): e63316. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063316 PMID: 23691021
24. Russell-Smith SN, Bayliss DM, Maybery MT, Tomkinson RL. Are the autism and positive schizotypy spectra diametrically pposed in empathizing and systemizing? J Autism Dev Disord. 2013; 43 (3): 695-706. doi: 10.1007/s10803-012-1614-9 PMID: 22829244
25. Davies W, Isles AR. Genomic imprinting and disorders of the social brain; shades of grey rather than black and white. Behav Brain Sci. 2008; 31(03): 265-6.
26. Lord C, Rutter M, Goode S, Heemsbergen J, Jordan H, Mawhood L, et al. Austism diagnostic observation schedule: A standardized observation of communicative and social behavior. J Autism Dev Disord. 1989; 19(2): 185-212. PMID: 2745388
27. Lord C, Rutter M, Le Couteur A. Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 1994; 24(5): 659-85. PMID: 7814313
28. Castle DJ, Jablensky A, McGrath JJ, Carr V, Morgan V, Waterreus A, et al. The diagnostic interview for psychoses (DIP): development, reliability and applications. Psychol Med. 2006; 36: 69-80. PMID: 16194284
29. McGuffin P, Farmer A, Harvey I. A polydiagnostic application of operational criteria in studies of psychotic illness: development and reliability of the OPCRIT system. Arch Gen Psychiat. 1991; 48(8): 764. PMID: 1883262
30. Prosser H, Moss S, Costello H, Simpson N, Patel P, Rowe S. Reliability and validity of the Mini PAS-ADD for assessing psychiatric disorders in adults with intellectual disabilities. J Intell Disabil Res. 1998; 42(4): 264-72.
31. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edition, text revision ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
32. World Health Organisation. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. 2007. Retrieved 08/09/2014, from http://apps.who.int/classifications/apps/icd/icd10online/
33. Spitzer RL, Endicott J, Williams JB. Research diagnostic criteria. Arch Gen Psychiat. 1979; 36(12): 1381-3. PMID: 496556
34. Larson FV, Wagner AP, Jones PB, Tantam D, Lai M-C, Baron-Cohen S, et al. Psychosis in autism: phenomenology and clinical features. 2015; manuscript in submission.
35. Wakabayashi A, Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Goldenfeld N, Delaney J, Fine D, et al. Development of short forms of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short) and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ-Short). Pers Indiv Differ. 2006; 41: 929-40.
36. Wheelwright S, Baron-Cohen S, Goldenfeld N, Delaney J, Fine D, Smith R, et al. Predicting autism spectrum quotient (AQ) from the systemizing quotient-revised (SQ-R) and empathy quotient (EQ). Brain Res. 2006; 1079(1): 47-56. PMID: 16473340
37. Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Robinson J, Woodbury-Smith M. The Adult asperger assessment (AAA): a diagnostic method. J Autism Dev Disord. 2005; 35(6): 807-19. PMID: 16331530
38. Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Ruigrok ANV, Chakrabarti B, Wheelwright SJ, Auyeung B, et al. Cognition in Males and Females with Autism: Similarities and Differences. PLoS ONE. 2012; 7(10): e47198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047198 PMID: 23094036
39. Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Chakrabarti B, Ecker C, Sadek SA, Wheelwright SJ, et al. Individual differences in brain structure underpin empathizing-systemizing cognitive styles in male adults. Neuroimage. 2012; 61(4): 1347-54. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.018 PMID: 22446488
40. Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Pasco G, Ruigrok AN, Wheelwright SJ, Sadek SA, et al. A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions. PLoS ONE. 2011; 6(6): e20835. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020835 PMID: 21695147
41. Wechsler D. Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation; 1999.
42. O'Connor BP. All-in-one programs for exploring interactions in moderated multiple regression. Educ Psychol Meas. 1998; 58: 833-7.
43. Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple regression: testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1991.
44. Cohen J, Cohen P. Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd Ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum; 1983.
45. Goldenfeld N, Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S. Empathizing and systemizing in males, females, and autism. Clin Neuropsychiat. 2005; 2(6): 338-45.
46. Brosnan M, Chapman E, Ashwin C. Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Show a Circumspect Reasoning Bias Rather than 'Jumping-to-Conclusions'. J Autism Dev Disord. 2013; 44(3): 513-20.
47. Brosnan M, Ashwin C, Gamble T. Greater Empathizing and reduced Systemizing in people who show a jumping to conclusions bias in the general population: Implications for psychosis. Psychosis. 2013; 5 (1): 71-81.
48. Hallerback MU, Lugnegard T, Gillberg C. Is autism spectrum disorder common in schizophrenia? Psychiat Res. 2012; 198(1): 12-7.
49. Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Skinner R, Martin J, Clubley E. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. J Autism Dev Disord. 2001; 31(1): 5-17. PMID: 11439754
50. Konstantareas MM, Stewart K. Affect regulation and temperament in children with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2006; 36 (2): 143-54. PMID: 16456727
51. Samson AC, Huber O, Gross JJ. Emotion regulation in Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism. Emotion. 2012; 12 (4): 659-65. doi: 10.1037/a0027975 PMID: 22642342
52. Tantam D. Asperger syndrome in adulthood. In: Frith U, editor. Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991. p. 147-183.
53. Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Chakrabarti B, Baron-Cohen S. Subgrouping the autism "spectrum": reflections on DSM-5. PLoS Biology. 2013; 11(4): e1001544. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001544 PMID: 23630456
54. Ousley O, Cermak T. Autism Spectrum Disorder: Defining Dimensions and Subgroups. Curr Dev Disord Rep. 2014; 1(1): 20-8. doi: 10.1007/s40474-013-0003-1 PMID: 25072016