of autism and time lords

[mellowtigger]

A new study casts doubt on the whole "mirror neuron" theory of autism.  I think that I've never commented in my blog regarding the mirror neuron theory.  It certainly sounded interesting, but I had my doubts about its influence.  Now there is objective reason to question it, rather than just relying upon my subjective musings.

This autism study used 13 autistics and 10 control subjects.  That's too small an example to make for a compelling overthrow of existing theory.  Their results seem detailed to me (however little I'm understanding them at the moment), and they offer more than one evaluation that contradicts the mirror neuron theory.

"... we show that individuals with autism exhibited not only normal fMRI responses in mirror system areas during observation and execution of hand movements but also exhibited typical movement-selective adaptation (repetition suppression) when observing or executing the same movement repeatedly... as such, these findings argue against a mirror system dysfunction in autism."
- http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273%2810%2900237-0

That link includes a nice 5-minute video (mp4 download) that explains mirror neurons and shows examples of what movements they had people perform inside the MRI ring.  The actual paper (pdf download) includes more charts and graphs than I know what to make of them.  Blah, blah, blah, very convincing, yes?   (Ugh, I need sleep.  *laugh*)

Perhaps-not-unrelated, another study shows that humans are horny apes that have a long history of "pollinating" (to quote the fictional alien time lord, Doctor Who) their way across the frontier with any species willing and able.  Besides recent stories about genetic evidence of Homo sapiens interbreeding with Homo neanderthalensis, there is new evidence of interbreeding with another lineage of extinct hominids.  Scientists are still working out the details.  The likely candidate at this point is Homo erectus, but they haven't yet ruled out the possibility of Homo floresiensis.

I have previously described my two theories of autism.

1. Autism represents not a new way of thinking but in fact a very old way of thinking based in sensory experience rather than in verbal constructions, and it is now making an unexpected comeback in newborn humans, triggered by environmental cues similar to some period of our ancient past.
2. Autism is a new feature resulting from epigenetic changes in our species intended to improve our data evaluation capability in response to our redesign of society into a gender-equal information processing culture.

If such neural experimentation by Mother Nature that leads to autism happened to coincide with genetic clusters of markers from "older" hominids (most recently introduced to Homo sapiens), I think it would actually boost both of my theories.  I think that Mother Nature is "turning back the clock" of human evolution, reevaluating recent modifications to our genetics and redirecting them (blindly, randomly) in order to find alternative branches of development that are more suitable to our current environment.

Or so I'm willing to argue while in a sleep-deprived stupor.  Homo solus for the win.

Comments

[mellowtigger]

"Not Even Wrong" is a very good book that examines (among other things) the possibility of autism through the centuries.

Even more interesting, though, is the possibility of autism through the millenia. As I wrote over 2 years ago...

Imagine, in a moment's indulgence, what a culture would be like if it was filled with well-functioning adults that nevertheless fit the description of the stereotypical "quiet" autistic. It would surely be a very flat society, without obvious signs of social rank since each person would treat every other person with the same ritual. Its art would be similarly lacking in ostentation, favoring tactile or visual toys that could be handled for relaxation and self-assurance. Obsessively-focused interests would lead some individuals to make significant advances to knowledge in art and math and engineering, although institutional applications might languish for lack of coordination amongst large groups of citizens. With isolationist tendencies a strong motivation in each person, confrontations between individuals would spur solitude-seeking behavior, so disputes might easily disintegrate prior to physical harm, reducing the need for police or similar enforcers to handle disagreements. The culture as a whole, however, might have difficulty withstanding pressures from neighboring states with more effective social cohesion. That kind of society sounds unlike anything that humans have ever produced before, doesn't it? A civilization without an army? Except that there was one, over 5000 years ago.

"What historians know of the Harappan civilization makes them unique. Their society did not like great differences between social classes or the display of wealth by rulers. They did not leave behind large monuments or rich graves. They appear to be a peaceful people who displayed their art in smaller works of stone."
'Earliest writing' found
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/334517.stm

Could early Harappa have been the last collected remnants of a previous autistic-like human society? I'd sure like to know. They sound a lot more "familiar" to me as an autistic man living today than any other civilization (past or present) that I've heard of. It's also rather frequently stated that many autistics prefer the company of animals other than humans. In a curiously similar vein, I've read that various cultures shared the same area with the Harappan civilization, but there's one way to tell their artwork apart. The Harappans painted their unicorns without collars; the other humans painted them with collars. Wild guess: Harappans saw their unicorns as friends rather than possessions, echoing a sentiment that seems to be expressed today more often by autistic adults than neurotypical adults.

Where's that TARDIS when I need it to verify a pet theory? Yes, I think it's old, but I also think that actual percentage-of-population is increasing.

p.s. Oh, and that article about the most recent human/hominid interbreeding? Where did it find that happen? "They also noticed a spike in genetic diversity in Indo-Pacific peoples, dating to around 40,000 years ago." Which places the intermingling not so very far away from the Harappan area (India/Pakistan).

[dodecadragon.livejournal.com]

If only we could "see" the past (http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread443385/pg1) if nothing else. I've always thought it would be cool to follow my genetic path back through time. See my genealogy first-hand. :o)

[bluebear2.livejournal.com]

Unicorns?

[mellowtigger]

Unicorns and dragons seem to be fairly common cross-cultural depictions. It makes me curious how those two forms came to reach archetype status in our minds. Dragons have an obvious similarity to dinosaurs. Unicorns, though, I don't know an historical equivalent in geologic timespans.