SchaferAutismReport: Autism Genes Can Add Up To Genius

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Monday, October 6, 2008

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Vol. 12 No. 143p

In This Issue:

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RESEARCH

" Autism Genes " Can Add Up To Genius

NIH Funding For New Epigenomics Initiative

Top Psychiatrist Didn’t Report Drug Makers’ Pay

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Autism Doc's Claims Led To Witch Hunt

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EVENTS

Vaccination Choice Rally in Trenton, New Jersey

Quilt Lovers Discover Stories Behind Works

Research Presentation in Los Angeles

Armstrong & McCarthy Host TACA Dana Point Poker Tournament

LETTERS

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RESEARCH

" Autism Genes " Can Add Up To Genius

Intellectual gifts and certain brain disorders are closely related

By Leake. in the Sunday Times of

London. is.gd/3zoR

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.

“It seems clear that genes play a

significant role in the causes of autism and that those genes are also

linked to certain intellectual skills. "

Scientists have long been intrigued by the

apparent association between autism and intellectual gifts in specific

fields. This has made autism a hot topic in popular culture, from films

such as Rain Man, which starred Hoffman and Tom Cruise, to books

such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

Some people with autism have become renowned

for their creativity. The British artist Wiltshire, 34, was mute as

a child and diagnosed with classic autism. He began drawing at the age of

five and soon completed cityscapes. One of his feats was to draw a

stunningly detailed panoramic view of Tokyo from memory after a short

helicopter ride. He has since opened a gallery.

Autism and the related Asperger’s syndrome

are among the commonest mental afflictions, affecting about 600,000

Britons. Boys are four times as likely as girls to develop it. Autistic

people can have special skills but they also tend to suffer from anxiety,

obsessive behaviour and other problems that far outweigh any advantages.

The fact that autism runs in families shows

that it is partly genetic in origin, but evolutionary theory suggests genes

causing such a debilitating conditions ought to have been weeded out of the

population. The Cambridge study hints at why this has not happened,

suggesting that with variations in the way they are combined, such genes

are beneficial.

On their own, such studies have to be

treated cautiously because the numbers involved are small. In the Cambridge

study, seven of 378 maths students were found to be autistic, compared with

only one among the 414 students in the control group.

Other studies, however, have found similar

patterns. Baron-Cohen, whose cousin Sacha Baron Cohen is the comic actor

behind the Ali G and Borat characters, said: “Separate studies have shown

that the fathers and grandfathers of children with autism are twice as

likely to work in engineering. Science students also have more relatives

with autism than those in the humanities. "

His research, set out last week in a meeting

at the Royal Society, coincides with separate research showing nearly a

third of people with autism may have “savant” skills.

Howlin, professor of clinical child

psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, studied

137 people with autism; 39 of them (29%) possessed an exceptional mental

skill. The most common was outstanding memory.

She said: “It had been thought that only

about 5%-10% of people with autism had such skills, but nobody had measured

it properly, and it seems the number is far higher. If we could foster

these skills, many more people with autism could live independently and

even become high achievers. "

The idea that autism may have positive

aspects is finding favour among some of those with the condition. Some

resent being labelled disabled and have begun describing those without

autism as “neurotypicals” to make the point that they could be the ones

missing out.

Professor Allan Snyder, director of the

centre for the mind at the University of Sydney, said: “Autism ranges from

the classical picture of severe mental impairment at one end of the

spectrum to Nobel prize-win-ning genius at the other. Both extremes have

core autistic features, such as preoccupation with detail, obsessional

interests and difficulties in understanding other people’s

perspectives. "

Temple Grandin, 61, was diagnosed with

autism as a child and is now professor of animal sciences at Colorado State

University. She said: “People with autism have played a vital role in human

evolution and culture. Before computers it would have taken someone with an

autistic-type memory to design great cathedrals, while scientists such as

Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein show every sign of having been autistic.

The world owes a great deal to those who design and programme computers,

many of whom show autistic traits. "

For Baron-Cohen the next step is to find the

genes linked with autism; he is working with Professor Ian Craig of King’s

College to scan the DNA of hundreds of autistic people - and of

mathematicians.

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