This is an excerpt from a fascinating article from The Sunday Times in London today. Remember the guy who played Borat? His brother is doing research into autism and thinks the genes that create the disorder can also give mathematical or musical genius to people who don't have autism or Aspergers Syndrome.
"Intellectual gifts and certain brain disorders are closely...Some people with autism have amazed experts with their outstanding memories, mathematical skills or musical talent. Now scientists have found that the genes thought to cause autism may also confer mathematical, musical and other skills on people without the condition.
The finding has emerged from a study of autism among 378 Cambridge University students, which found the condition was up to seven times more common among mathematicians than students in other disciplines. It was also five times more common in the siblings of mathematicians.
If confirmed, it could explain why autism - a disability that makes it hard to communicate with, and relate to, others - continues to exist in all types of society. It suggests the genes responsible are usually beneficial, causing the disease only if present in the wrong combinations. “Our understanding of autism is undergoing a transformation,” said Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the autism research centre at Cambridge, who led the study."
Sunday, 5 October 2008
Autism genes can add up to genius
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1 comments:
I'm not sure these people are not being overly presumptuous, which happens everyday in the medical "sciences". The genes that create autism have not been found yet, and I was under the impression that in science when the cause of something has not been determined it is still an open question.
The closest study I have read found a gene to question in 1% of autistic persons. I doubt that counts as a gene that causes autism in most people's book.
Also, the discussion of genes in the media gives a very misleading picture of what genetic expression is actually like. It is not the case that a problem with genes must have something to do with heritability; genes can be damaged by environmental factors.
Also whether genes are expressed or not is not at all straightforward and it is not as simple as saying that there are genes for autism, as it is possible that transcription factors (as just one example) that control gene expression are part of the equation.
In my opinion (and I keep pretty current on the autism research) Baren-Cohen has developed a particular ideological bias about autism, and I am concerned that his work now is partly an exercise in confirmation bias. Perhaps he will end up being correct about the causes of autism, but for now I am not as easily persuaded as he.
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