On Autism and Masculinity

The report (http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/01January/Pages/Autismscreening.aspx) that there appears to be a link between autistic features and exposure of male foetuses to high levels of testosterone via the amniotic fluid in which they float is interesting. Some writers have gone so far as to say that autism (a very varied group of symptoms and abilities but generally linked to difficulties of empathy and sociability) represents a 'hyper-masculinization' process. It is certainly true that autism is more frequently found in male children and that the male brain in mammals is 'switched' from its basic female mode by earlier exposure in the womb to sex hormones (the embryonic testis secretes testosterone earlier than the embryonic ovary produces its predominant oestrogens). One effect of the masculinizing process is to make the individual more 'single-minded' (perhaps a reason why males are not good at multi-tasking).Having said that, there is evidence that (certainly in some mammals) the testosterone is transformed into oestrogen (there are enzyme systems in the brain) before it produces its subtle changes in the central nervous system. It would be interesting to know whether historically higher incidences of autistic features in male children were evident in the offspring of women with adrenogenital syndrome (where her adrenal glands produce high concentrations of androgens) and women treated with DES (the oestrogen, diethylstilbestrol) to reduce the chance of miscarriage up to the 1970s. There might even be scope linking the incidence of autism to exposure of pregnant women to phytoestrogens (natural oestrogens in some plants) and certain oestrogenic insecticides. I suspect that one problem would be that autism has only recently been a systematic diagnosis.