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发帖数: 4845 | 1 Autism May Have Had Advantages in Humans' Hunter-Gatherer Past, Research
er Believes
ScienceDaily (June 3, 2011) Though people with autism face many challe
nges because of their condition, they may have been capable hunter-gathe
rers in prehistoric times, according to a paper published in the journal
Evolutionary Psychology in May.
The autism spectrum may represent not disease, but an ancient way of lif
e for a minority of ancestral humans, said Jared Reser, a brain science
researcher and doctoral candidate in the USC Psychology Department.
Some of the genes that contribute to autism may have been selected and m
aintained because they created beneficial behaviors in a solitary enviro
nment, amounting to an autism advantage, Reser said.
The "autism advantage," a relatively new perspective, contends that some
times autism has compensating benefits, including increased abilities fo
r spatial intelligence, concentration and memory. Although individuals w
ith autism have trouble with social cognition, their other cognitive abi
lities are sometimes largely intact.
The paper looks at how autism's strengths may have played a role in evol
ution. Individuals on the autism spectrum would have had the mental tool
s to be self-sufficient foragers in environments marked by diminished so
cial contact, Reser said.
The penchant for obsessive, repetitive activities would have been focuse
d by hunger and thirst towards the learning and refinement of hunting an
d gathering skills.
Today autistic children are fed by their parents so hunger does not guid
e their interests and activities. Because they can obtain food free of e
ffort, their interests are redirected toward nonsocial activities, such
as stacking blocks, flipping light switches or collecting bottle tops, R
eser said. |
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