Key Issue- 'To what extent does autism have a biological cause'

Key Issue- 'To what extent does autism have a biological cause?'

1) EMB by Baron Cohen suggests that autism is due to high levels of testosterone in the womb leading to superior skills in boy-related task such as maths and inferior skills in girl-related taks such as empathy

2)Hormones- Rodrigues suggested that one type of receptor gene has three varients and two of these varitents are more likely to be found in people with autism.

3) Genes- Hokonarson (2009) suggested mutations in genes involved in brain interconnections, such as speech, increase a child's risk of autism.

4) Post-mortem studies have found that in autistic adults, there are abnormalities in the brain in parts responsible for planning and control, emotional regulation and motor co-ordination. However, no single abnormality has been found

5) PET, MRI and SPECT scans have also found abnormalities in the brains of autistic children

Evaluation

+ Brian scans enable researchers to investigate the brain and its structure in detail and findings give more info on the nature of autism and its biological underlying cause. Scans can also be looked at…