Title |
Cognition in Males and Females with Autism: Similarities and Differences
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, October 2012
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0047198 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Meng-Chuan Lai, Michael V. Lombardo, Amber N. V. Ruigrok, Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Sally J. Wheelwright, Bonnie Auyeung, Carrie Allison, MRC AIMS Consortium, Simon Baron-Cohen |
Abstract |
The male bias in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) has led to females with ASC being under-researched. This lack of attention to females could hide variability due to sex that may explain some of the heterogeneity within ASC. In this study we investigate four key cognitive domains (mentalizing and emotion perception, executive function, perceptual attention to detail, and motor function) in ASC, to test for similarities and differences between males and females with and without ASC (n = 128 adults; n = 32 per group). In the mentalizing and facial emotion perception domain, males and females with ASC showed similar deficits compared to neurotypical controls. However, in attention to detail and dexterity involving executive function, although males with ASC showed poorer performance relative to neurotypical males, females with ASC performed comparably to neurotypical females. We conclude that performance in the social-cognitive domain is equally impaired in male and female adults with ASC. However, in specific non-social cognitive domains, performance within ASC depends on sex. This suggests that in specific domains, cognitive profiles in ASC are modulated by sex. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 8 | 19% |
United States | 7 | 17% |
Poland | 1 | 2% |
Kuwait | 1 | 2% |
Spain | 1 | 2% |
Switzerland | 1 | 2% |
Mexico | 1 | 2% |
Brazil | 1 | 2% |
Argentina | 1 | 2% |
Other | 3 | 7% |
Unknown | 17 | 40% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 34 | 81% |
Scientists | 6 | 14% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 5% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 5 | 1% |
Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
Germany | 1 | <1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
Brazil | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 388 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 59 | 15% |
Student > Bachelor | 58 | 15% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 55 | 14% |
Researcher | 49 | 12% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 32 | 8% |
Other | 55 | 14% |
Unknown | 89 | 22% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 160 | 40% |
Neuroscience | 31 | 8% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 30 | 8% |
Social Sciences | 18 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 16 | 4% |
Other | 41 | 10% |
Unknown | 101 | 25% |