How is your theory different from Baron-Cohen's and others arguing that ASD has many evolutionary advantages?
https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9781541647152
Great question
Baron-Cohen and others have indeed argued that autism may have conferred evolutionary advantages, particularly in terms of systemizing abilities, attention to detail, and pattern recognition. For example, Baron-Cohen's "Systemizing Theory" proposes that autistic individuals have a heightened drive to analyze and construct systems, which could have been beneficial in ancestral environments for tasks like tool-making, hunting, and foraging.
This ASD model shares some common ground with these perspectives, it differs in several key ways:
Predatory cognition: The ASD model specifically focuses on the concept of "predatory cognition" as a central organizing principle for understanding autistic traits. It posits that autism may represent an overexpression of cognitive strategies that were adaptive for predators, such as heightened sensory acuity, intense focus, and reduced social engagement. This specific emphasis on predatory cognition sets the ASD model apart from other evolutionary theories.
Spectrum perspective: The ASD model conceptualizes autism as a spectrum of specialized cognitive strategies, with varying degrees of expression across individuals. This spectrum perspective allows for a more nuanced understanding of the diverse presentations of autistic traits, rather than viewing autism as a single, uniform condition. While other evolutionary theories acknowledge the heterogeneity of autism, the ASD model explicitly frames this diversity as a continuum of adaptive specialization. I suggest that this is part of our wiring. Starting at the connectome and also including brain organization. My suggestion here is that this wiring doesn't guarantee the outcome but in a probabilistic way it influences the outcome - our neuroanatomy is thus a set of training wheels that spin up higher cognition but within deterministic bounds and constraints. We can't deny the function of chemicals and neuroanatomy: Clearly demonstrated in Jaak Panksepp Affective Neuroscience. Dopamine, etc. These behaviors I suggest are causally linked to these affective systems through the use of Bayesian prediction. Each of the behaviors of these conditions can be mapped to these affective systems and with other critical areas such as mirror neurons and the default mode network. My claim here is this mapping is deterministic - it's part of the cause and effect. These are patterns in the data of behavior in all people and explains some of their generalities across categories. It is a pattern of sameness across a multi-dimensional matrix of behavior data.
Neurobiological grounding: The ASD model aims to provide a neurobiological grounding for its evolutionary hypotheses by mapping autistic traits onto specific brain networks and neurotransmitter systems. For example, it suggests that heightened sensory acuity may be linked to differences in the salience network, while reduced social engagement may be associated with alterations in the default mode network. This integration of evolutionary and neurobiological perspectives distinguishes the ASD model from other theories that primarily focus on behavioral or cognitive aspects of autism.
Implications for intervention: The ASD model has direct implications for designing interventions that harness the adaptive aspects of autistic traits while providing support for challenges. It emphasizes the importance of creating environments that allow autistic individuals to utilize their specialized abilities, such as through Sensory Integration Training or Behavioral Priming for Decision-Making. While other evolutionary theories may acknowledge the strengths associated with autism, the ASD model explicitly translates these insights into practical strategies for support and intervention.
