Researchers challenge the ‘extreme male brain’ theory of autism

It is well known that autism is much more prevalent in males than females, particularly when considering the extreme male brain theory. However, it is not understood why this might be the case. "Of course, the primary suspect when we have something that is sharply differentiated by sex is testosterone," commented co-author Gideon Nave (University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School; PA, USA). A team of researchers led by Nave conducted two randomized controlled studies of testosterone administration in 643 healthy men. The results of the study have been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The men...