Female Brain Theory

One factor mentioned in my hypothesis on ASD causes is copy number variants (CNVs). CNVs can have effects on DNA molecules and the way that genetic information is duplicated and coded (Shishido, Aleksic, & Ozaki, 2014). CNVs can affect genetic variability by the way that they duplicate or delete themselves, which gives them the capability to alter the human genome (Shishido et al., 2014). These CNV duplication and deletions are the most common genome variations, and about 10% of those diagnosed with ASD are suspected to have large rearrangements of chromosomes (Shishido et al., 2014). In general, CNVs do not increase susceptibility of ASD, but some of these CNVs have been proven to have an effect (Shishido et al., 2014). With CNVs there can

This theory proposes a difference in the autistic brain being an underlying cause of the token symptoms of ASD. According to this theory there are five separate brain types, including the female brain, male brain, balanced brain, extreme female brain, and extreme male brain (Baron-Cohen, 1999). The female brain is also known as Brain E; this brain type is characterized by high empathizing skills and low systemizing skills (Baron-Cohen, 1999). Brain S is the other name for the male brain, which means that systemizing skills are high and empathizing skills are low (Baron-Cohen, 1999). The balanced brain type is Brain B, and this subtype has equally high empathizing and systemizing skills (Baron-Cohen, 1999). Brain Extreme E is the extreme female brain, extra high empathy skills and low systemizing skills, and Brain Extreme S is the extreme male brain, extra high systemizing skills and low empathy skills (Baron-Cohen, 1999). According to the EMB theory, people with ASD often have an extremem male brain, Extreme S, more often than not (Baron-Cohen, 1999). Most often men and women have the same respective brain type, but it is not uncommon for each gender to have the opposite sex brain type (Baron-Cohen, 1999). With this being said, it may not truly be accurate to label brains “male” and “female,” but for all intents and purposes it makes sense in general (Krahn & Fenton, 2012). Women and girls tend to be more emotional, nurturing, talkative, and compassionate, which explains why females engage in conversational turn taking and have more empathetic responses to the stress of others (Krahn & Fenton, 2012). Conversely, men and boys tend to have traits of being more physically aggressive, high math, science, and physics skills, and excellent spatial and map abilities (Baron-Cohen, 1999; Krahn & Fenton, 2012). Since there are differences between the two genders on a continuous