BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

UNIT 2 PSYCHOLOGY

DEFINITION OF THE APPROACH

BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Combines Psychology and Biology to provide physiological explanations for human

behaviour
It gives us physiological explanations for human behaviour
Uses scientific research methods

DEFINITIONS
Key terms

Definition

Central
Nervous
System

Consist of brain and spinal cord. Sensory neurones carry information to

sensory organs, the brain process this information and send to motor
neurons which carry information to parts of the body for responses

Synapse

The tiny gap between two neurons. When a nerve impulse takes along a pre-synapse
neuron, it triggers the nerve ending to release neurotransmitters across a synapse.

Receptor

Sites on the postsynaptic neuron (the receiving neuron) that binds with
neurotransmitters.

Neurone

A nerve cell. The send electrical messages called nerve impulses along their length.

Neurotransmitt
er

Chemical messengers that carry a signal across a synapse from one neuron to another.

Genes

Units of information that pass on a genetic trait

Hormones

Chemical substances that are produced by glands of the body. They are similar to
neurotransmitters in the body, but affected it more slowly.

Brain

Refers to how we use one side of our brain at a time.

ASSUMPTIONS

Believe us to be consequence of genetics and physiology

Examine thoughts, feelings and behaviours from physiological point of view
All that is psychology is first physiology
All thoughts, feelings, and behaviour ultimately have biological cause

STUDIES AND DETAILS

SECTION 2

TWIN STUDIES

To see whether a trait is due to genetic factors by ruling out the environmental ones
Compare Monozygotic (MZ) twins to Dizygotic twins (DZ) to see if there are differences in

rate of similarities among the twins between the MZ and DZ twins

Significant difference between MZ and DZ twins' characteristics/traits can provoke genetic

causes, while no difference provoke environmental ones

EVALUATE TWIN STUDIES (STRENGTHS)

Generated a large volume of data
More generalisable
Both MZ and DZ were born at the same time, but MZ share 100% of their genes and DZ

share 50%
Twin studies are the main method of investigate the impact of genes on behaviour
There is no other way of having 100% same gene, which means this is about the most

accurate way to study genetic inheritance's influence on characteristics.

MZ and DZ share the same environment and were treated as twins
They were born at the same time, were treated as twins as they look alike, so it is fair to conclude

that they share almost the same environment and so the similarities or differences between DZ and
MZ twins are not due to environment but only genetics.

EVALUATE TWIN STUDIES (WEAKNESSES)

Most people are not twins

Cannot generalise all of the findings to the rest of the population
There are behavioural differences even between MZ twins
Many genes have environmental switch, if over time environment became different, then MZ twins

may became more different

Even thought MZ have 100% same genes and share the same environment, it's still difficult to

conclude that characteristics are solely caused by the genetics

ADOPTION STUDIES

Investigate children that are adopted into a different family in different environment
Adopted children have same genetics to their biological parents but are raised in a different

environment created by adoptive parents

If results show a lot of similarities between the child and biological parents = cause is

genetics
Shows genetics play a big role in determining the child's characteristics, behaviours and

mental orders

EVALUATE ADOPTION STUDIES (STRENGTHS)

Generated a large volume of data

Provide us with the most direct comparison of the influences of nature versus nurture
They isolate the influences of the environments from those of genetics.
Can investigate a range of variables and use varied samples and methods
Trans-racial situation and meta-analysis

EVALUATE ADOPTION STUDIES (WEAKNESSES)

Samples might not be representative

Not everyone is adopted, and adopted children might have different psychological

development because of the knowledge that they themselves are adopted and so have
more or less sense of rejection than average people
Children are often selectively placed in families that are reflective of their 'biological'

families
Make untangling differences between genetics and environment difficult

POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY SCANNER (PET SCAN)

A type of imaging test

Use radioactive substance (tracer) to look for diseases in the body
Shows how tissues and organs are working
Tracer is injected into blood stream, travel through blood and collected in tissues and

organs, help radiologists see more clearly, takes about an hour to be absorbed
PET scan detect signals from the tracer, computer generate signals into 3D picture for

healthcare provider to read

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING SCANNER (MRI SCAN)

Utilise a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create digitalized images of organs and

tissues in the body

It is non-invasive and painless
Uses large magnet, radio waves, and a computer to create detailed cross-sectional image

of the patients internal organs and structure

Contains 2 powerful magnet, the first magnet align the bodys water molecule either north

or south, and the second turned on and off in a series of quick pulse, causing hydrogen
atoms to align then quickly return to their relaxed normal stage
The scanner can detect them, and in conjunction with a computer, can create a detailed

cross-sectional image for the radiologist.

STATISTICAL TERMINOLOGY
Alternative Hypothesis
Hypothesis used in hypothesis testing that is contrary to null hypothesis. It is usually taken to be that the

observations are the result of a real effect (with some amount of chance variation superposed).

Experimental Hypothesis
A prediction that yourexperimental manipulation will have some effect or that certain variables will relate

to each other

Null Hypothesis
(H0) is ahypothesiswhich the researcher tries to disprove, reject or nullify. The 'null' often refers to the

common view of something, while the alternativehypothesisis what the researcher really thinks is the
cause of a phenomenon.

One-tailed tests
Used if only deviations in one direction are considered possible.

Two-tailed tests
Used if deviations of the estimated parameter in either direction from some benchmark value are considered

theoretically possible

STATISTICAL TERMINOLOGY (2)

Mann Whitney-U Critical Value

Mann Whitney-U Observed Value
Dependent Variable
Independent Variable

STATISTICAL TERMINOLOGY (3)

Control Groups
Members of complementary groups in independent measure experiment which receives no

manipulation in IV to use to compare with other groups

Experimental procedures including allocating groups to conditions (e.g. randomising) and

sampling
Levels of Measurement
The relationship among the values that are assigned to the attributes for a variable.

LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT

Quantitative data can be classified into four different levels of measurement

Knowing the level of measurement allows us to then choose the most appropriate

statistical test to use

In ascending order of precision, the four different levels of measurement are:
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio

LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT (CONTINUE)

Interval

Nominal
This is where data is in the form of a count or

tally.
E.g. How many males and females were there

Ordinal
This is where the data is in the form of a rank

or an order.
E.g. this person came first, the next second etc.
Subjective rating scales are another example of

ordinal data as the gaps between the

numbers on the scale are defined by the
participant.

This is where the data is measured along an

(objectively) even scale e.g. temperature

measured in Celcius
Here a one degree rise in the scale means

the same thing no matter where on the scale

we are

Ratio

This is like interval data but now the

information is measured along a scale that

contains a true zero point i.e. the
measurement could be 0 - there is nothing of
that quantity present.
For example length, mass, time etc

THE USE OF ANIMALS IN LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS

A lesion study involves damaging the brain by:
Surgically removing or burning a part of the brain
By using drugs to disable parts of the brain temporarily

Independent Variable: causing damage to the brain

Dependent Variable: resulting changes in behaviour
The experimental group is always compared to the control group (the group with fully-

functioning brains)
In lesion studies, researchers are not allowed to cause pain or discomfort unless:
The finding have significant benefit to humans
Use surgical anaesthetic

ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS (CONTINUE)

Researchers must follow BPS guidelines

You must use as few animals as possible whilst still gaining reliable results
Their cage should be as close to their natural environment as possible
You cannot gather endangered species unless it is an attempt for conservation

Researchers are required to gain a license to do animal research from the Home Office

BATESONS CUBE
It is said that a decision cube should be used to see whether a study should be carried out or not. It
weighs up the potential benefits from running the experiment, and measures them up against the
costs of doing so. This is particularly important when deciding whether or not to do an animal
study, as these are among the most controversial (ethically).
Benefit to society or individuals
Scientific quality of findings
Ethical cost to animals or participants

If the benefits are not considerably higher than the costs of the study, and the study has not been
planned well, it shouldnt be conducted. Similarly, when the benefits highly outweigh the costs and
the study is well-thought out and controlled and monitored well, it should be carried out.

EVALUATE THE USE OF ANIMALS IN LABORATORY

EXPERIMENTS (OVERALL MIGHT BE THE SAME AS THE
OTHER SLIDES)
Strengths

WEAKNESSES
Sometimes, it can be more expensive to use animals compared to humans, as
animals have to have the highest level of care and cannot fend for themselves.
Human participants can go home when not participating and look after themselves

Small animals like rats and pigeons are easy to house and monitor, when compared
with humans

With animals like rats, their gestation period is only 22 days, so large samples can
be bred quickly

Ethically, researchers can perform procedures on animals that they wouldnt be

allowed to do on humans for example lesion studies
Animals are said to be naive participants, because they dont understand what is
happening. This increase the validity of the experiments, as their behaviour is
natural

Humans and animal brains are different, thus it may be difficult to generalise the
results from animals to humans, because we dont know that animals and humans
would behave in the same way.

EVALUATE THE USE OF ANIMALS IN LABORATORY

EXPERIMENTS: CREDIBILITY

No demand characteristics
Animals are said to be naive participants, because they dont understand what is happening
This increase the validity of the experiments, as their behaviour is natural

The issue of brain complexity

Humans and animal brains are different, thus it may be difficult to generalise the results from

animals to humans, because we dont know that animals and humans would behave in the same
way

EVALUATE THE USE OF ANIMALS IN LABORATORY

EXPERIMENTS: PRACTICAL ISSUES

Space consumption
Small animals like birds or mouse are easier to house and monitor when compared to humans

Time saving
Animals like rats have gestation period of 22 days, large samples can be bred quickly

Can be expensive
Sometimes, it can be more expensive to use animals compared to humans, as animals have to have

the highest level of care and cannot fend for themselves

Human participants can go home when not participating and look after themselves

Easier to study
Humans and animals are similar

EVALUATE THE USE OF ANIMALS IN LABORATORY

EXPERIMENTS: ETHICAL ISSUES
Animals have the rights to live as well as humans
Minimum numbers of animals should be used in studies making them more ethical because any practices

are not carried out unnecessarily

Using Batesons cube animal studies are ethical if we are certain there will be a benefit, their suffering is

low and the research quality is high

But cannot know if there are benefits until after the research was over

Animals are too simple

Results may not be true for humans, meaning that they have been used in vain so making it unethical

Carry experiments that cannot be conduct on humans

Benefit drug research
Benefit the animals own species
E.g. B.F. Skinner gave electric shocks to the rats in the Skinner box, this cannot be done to humans

Animals have feelings

Animals isolated in unusual condition feel stressed
Animals are not sufficiently different from humans to be treated as an object, so should be treated ethically similar to

us

LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS

Ethical dilemmas in laboratory experiments

How far should psychology go in persuing their knowledge?
Should humankind aim to improve itself by allowing dehumanisation in the process?
Do the ends of psychological researches justify the means?
Can we ever know if research will justify abusing rights before we conduct it?

EVALUATE LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS: VALIDITY

EVALUATE LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS: RELIABILITY

EVALUATE LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS: GENERALISABILITY

CONTENT
SECTION 3

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Suggests there are no difference between sex and gender

Biological sex creates gendered behaviours

ROLE OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND

NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
SRY gene
Sex determining region Y gene
6 weeks foetus have SRY gene on Y chromosome which activate Gonands (sex organ) in embryo

which cause it to develop testes

Koopman et al (1991) found that when genetically female mice were implanted with SRY gene, they

develop into make mice

Chromosome abnormality
Turners syndrome (XO):
Female develop one X on chromosome 23 (1/5000 chance), results in child with female external but under

develop ovaries, lack of maturation at puberty and webbing of the neck

ROLE OF GENES IN BEHAVIOR

(INCLUDING NATURE-NURTURE DEBATE)

A typical cell has a nucleus; the nuclei contain 23 pairs of chromosomes. The chromosomes

contain genes which are made of DNA.

Sex and Gender are two different terms. Sex is default. Gender can be developed.
The XX and XY chromosomes determine a persons sex. In males, the chromosomes are XY,

in females, the chromosomes are XX. The X/Y chromosome determining the persons true
must come from the father.

THE ROLE OF GENES, HORMONES, AND BRAIN

LATERALISATION IN GENDER DEVELOPMENT (OVERVIEW)

Brain lateralisation
(right > left) Male > Female (right = left)
Supports : evolutionary psychology and

visuospatial skills

Genes
Male XY and Female XX
Sex chromosomes determine hormones and so

gender behaviour

Support: David Reimer

Hormones

Testosterone links to aggressive behaviour,

makes a person likely to act more aggressive

Ratio 10 in Male : 1 in Female
Male are more likely to be aggressive

Support: Charles Joseph Whitman or Texas

tower sniper 16 killed and 32 wounded.

Found that his amygdala was damaged by
tumour (necrosis)

HORMONES IN GENDER DEVELOPMENT

Hormones appear to play a crucial role in the development of sex and gender:
They determine the anatomical sex of the baby at birth and affect the development of secondary

sexual characteristics at puberty

There also appears to be an effect on brain development
They effect genital development and brain lateralisation

GENES IN GENDER DEVELOPMENT

Boys

GIRLS

At 6-8 week of the foetus, the presence of SRY gene determine the foetus sex

Boys are born with SRY genes

SRY produces a protein called Testes

Determining Factor (TDF)

TDF influences the development of Gonads,

they later become testes

Testosterone triggers the development of

external male organ or a penis

8-24 weeks: male fetuses are exposed to

higher level of testosterone in the womb

than female ones

Girls are born without SRY gene

The absence of testosterone (male hormone

resulting from TDF) will result in

development of Mullerian systems into
female sex organs

BRAIN LATERALIZATION IN GENDER DEVELOPMENT

BIOLOGICAL APPROACHS EXPLANATION FOR GENDER

DEVELOPMENT
Up to 6 weeks, foetuses are identical in appearance,

the only different is that boys have XY chromosomes

and girls have XX chromosomes
At 6 weeks, the gonads begin to develop. In males,

this is called the Wolffian System and in females,

this is called the Mullarian System
In boys, the Y chromosome has the SRY gene which

means the foetus will produce testis-determining

factor. This causes the gonads to develop into testes
In girls, the absence of the Y chromosome means

that girls dont have the SRY gene which means that
testis-determining factor is not produced. This causes
the gonads to develop into ovaries
The default sex for all foetuses = females

After three months, if the testes have developed, they produce anti-mullarian
hormone which prevents any further development of female sex organs

The testes then produce androgens (e.g. testosterones) which stimulates the
development of male sex organs

In females, the development of full female sex organs is due to the absence of males
hormones

Testosterone stimulates the hypothalamus

The hypothalamus instructs the pituitary glands to produce male hormones if there is
testosterone in the body these further masculine the male.

The hypothalamus will instruct the pituitary gland to produce female hormones if
there is no testosterone in the body these further feminises the female.

BIOLOGICAL APPROACHS EXPLANATION FOR GENDER

DEVELOPMENT - EVALUATION
Strengths
It is based on research that is scientific, objective and controlled, so therefore it can
be replicated and be tested for reliability

WEAKNESSES

Studies like Pfeiffer were conducted on rats, so the findings may not be
generalisable to humans as rats and humans are not 100% genetically identical

Money (1975) showed that even though Bruce Reiners parents tried to raised him as
a girl, he went back to living as a man and said he always felt male showing
nature, not nurture determines gender
Pfeiffer (1936) who showed that when gonads were removed from newborn rats,
their pituitary glands produced female hormones but when testes were sewn on the
pituitary gland produced males hormones showing the importance of testosterone in
gender development

It takes no account of nurture. Gender development may be explained by Social

Learning Theory which suggests that children observe and imitate same-sex models
so boys copy their fathers and girls copy their mother

It cannot explain why some people have a gender that doesnt match their genetic
sex for example some people want to change their gender so it doesnt match their
sex because they feel they were born in the wrong gender

EVALUATE THE INFLUENCE OF BIOLOGICAL FACTORS ON

GENDER DEVELOPMENT: COMPARE WITH PSYCHODYNAMIC
EXPLANATION

EVALUATE THE INFLUENCE OF BIOLOGICAL FACTORS ON

GENDER DEVELOPMENT: COMPARE WITH LEARNING
EXPLANATION
Biological explanation

PSYCHODYNAMIC EXPLANATION

STUDIES IN DETAIL
SECTION 4

GOTTESMAN AND SHIELD

Aim
To see if there is any relationship between genetic makeup and the development of schizophrenia, by

looking at the concordance rate for the disorder in groups of twins.

Procedure
The researchers accessed records from Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Joint Hospital
Short stay psychiatric hospital with a large outpatients department

Samples 57 twin pairs: male and female, and monozygotic and dizygotic twins
Primary data
Hospital notes, Case histories for the twins, Personality testing, and Testing to examine thought

disorders
Secondary data
Tape recordings of 30 minute samples of verbal behaviour gathered by semi-structured interviews

GOTTESMAN AND SHIELD

Results
Analysis of the data has looked for similarities between each client and their twin. Concordance was

assessed in three different ways:

Grade 1: both client and co-twin have been hospitalised and diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Grade 2: both client and co-twin have had psychiatric hospitalisation but the co-twin has a different diagnosis.
Grade 3: The co-twin has some psychiatric abnormality (e.g. out-patient care, GP care, neurotic or psychotic personality profile or

being abnormal on interview)

In the monozygotic twins the concordance rate was 42% (i.e. 42% were BOTH diagnosed as having schizophrenia)
In the dizygotic twins the concordance rate was 9% (i.e. 9% were BOTH diagnosed as having schizophrenia)

Conclusion
Genes appear to play an important role in schizophrenia because the concordance rate is higher in MZ twins than DZ

twins.
Since some MZ twins did not share the same diagnosis genes alone cannot be a sufficient explanation for

schizophrenia, so other environmental factors must play a role.

GOTTESMAN AND SHIELD - EVALUATION

Strengths
Studies support the finding of Gottesman and Shields as twin studies have generated large amounts of data.

Therefore the findings have high reliability as similar results have been found.
Many different research methods were used, therefore it provides a more objective analysis of the results

making them more valid.

The study has practical applications as it demonstrates that genetics can account for mental disorders, but

also shows that the environment individuals are brought up in is also important.

Weaknesses
Twins share the same environment and MZs are treated the same way, therefore findings may be due to this

rather than genetics.

Other factors such as life events could have affected the onset of schizophrenia and therefore makes it

difficult to assess the importance of genes

Results may be ethnocentric as findings are only from one country, therefore may not apply to other cultures.

MONEY (1975) - AIM AND PROCEDURE

Aim
To investigate the theory of gender neutrality
Procedure
Bruce's parents went to Money after they saw him on TV and asked him about bring

Bruce up as a girl successfully

At 17 months old Bruce was gender-reassigned as Brenda
Brenda was given new name, hair, toys, clothing, and anything that typical parents

would give to raise a baby girl. Money assured the parents that, based on successes of
adult operations, Brenda would become a girl and would conform to the gender she has
been brought up as. He instructed the parents to inform relatives, friends and Brian
(Brenda's twin) about this

MONEY (1975) - PROCEDURE (CONTINUE)

Money met with the twins regularly to assess how well the experiment is and to make Brenda feel

more comfortable as well as reassure her she was normal

At age of 4, Brenda was said to be neater than her twin, which Money considered to be potential

success, due to her feminine toys, hair, clothes, and upbringing style. The children began to copy
their same-sex parent, and Brenda wanted to play with dolls whereas her twin wanted toy cars
However, Brenda was tomboyish, with abundant physical energy, stubbornness and being the

dominant in an all-girl group. The mother tried her best to make Brenda more lady-like. Brenda was
the more dominant sibling of the two twin
Money decided that after 9 years, the girl would one day have to be told the truth about her gender

reassignment, for it is hard to be kept secret since all her family knows
The twin went to the zoo. They were asked by Money which animal they liked, Brenda said monkey because it

can climb and swing on their arm, but she chose to be a girl monkey not a boy one because she was already a
girl

Data collection: most of the finding was from the mother, who made most of the

observation at home and reported to Money.

MONEY (1975) - CASE ANALYSIS

Money concluded she exhibited normal girl behavious, including the liking of dresses, and

her desire to take on a feminine profession, such as teaching or being a doctor, as well as
her desire to be a female monkey. he contrasted this to her brothers desire to be a fireman
or policeman. He did not comment upon issues such as her liking for physical climbing &
activity, however.
He said the mother was a good observer, and had helped her daughter to adapt well

through her own behaviour & comparisons between girls & boys.

MONEY (1975) - CONCLUSION

It was concluded from the study as a whole that gender identity is sufficiently incompletely

differentiated at birth to allow successful gender reassignment, and that gender was
primarily a product of upbringing
It is more effective to create female organs than male ones, hence the decision to bring

them up as females, not venture into corrective surgery

With education, help & counselling, it was concluded it was possible to re-assign gender

successfully.

MONEY (1975) - EVALUATION

Strengths
There was a lot of detail taken about Brenda, such as her likes and dislikes, which could be related

to the progress of the study these were controlled carefully by Money

These could be compared to her brother Brian, which provided qualitative data, which is much more

valuable as it is more valid than quantitative

More than one person contributed to the data both Money and the parents observed the children

Weaknesses
The study was 9 years long and Money concluded it a success but it was later revealed by Reimer

that he was never happy as a girl, which is shown by the fact he later changed back to a male,
therefore there is no validity
It is hard to generalise these findings as this is a very unique case study the ablatio penis study is

rare enough, but also having an identical twin brother as well as willing-to-be-studied parents

MONEY (1975) - UPDATE ON CASE ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION

Sometimes, individuals in case studies later identify themselves and allow updating of the
conclusions beyond what the researcher said.
David Reimer was brought up as Brenda, and was not actually happy as a girl- she did not

like wearing dresses and refused to play with dolls, she would beat up her brother. - false
information from Brenda's mother
It is possible that Money knew that Brenda was unhappy as a girl, and that he knew David

has resumed his male identity, but he only followed the case until the children were about
11, so it is unclear if he deliberately lied.
When she was 14, Brenda was told the truth. David said that everything made sense, and

he underwent surgery and turned back to being a male. He attempted suicide twice, and
was depressed, but married in his 20s and his wife was a huge source of support.
Davids mother attempted suicide, and his father turned to alcohol. His brother Brian

turned to crime & became clinically depressed.

MONEY (1975) - UPDATE ON CASE ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION

(CONTINUE)

At the age of 30, David met a psychologist, Diamond, who went on to publish a paper

about him, showing that Moneys conclusions were wrong and should not be used to justify
gender reassignment in infants. Diamond & Sigmundson [1997].
in 2000, David published a book about himself & his life. His brother overdosed and died in

2002, and David himself committed suicide in 2004 after the breakdown of his marriagehe was also unemployed, depressed and grieving. There are indications of a genetic
tendency towards depression in the family, but it is likely that his upbringing contributed to
his problems.
The now-conclusion is that there are Biological influences on gender, and this case does

not support gender reassignment in infancy!

KEY ISSUE :
IS AUTISM AN EXTREME MALE BRAIN
CONDITION?
SECTION 5

AUTISM AS AN EXTREME MALE BRAIN CONDITION DESCRIPTION

Affects
childs interaction ability
relationship

Symptoms
Lower language ability
Communication problem [eye to eye gazing, facial expression and body posture]
Lack of empathy
Lack of interest to share enjoyment, interests and achievements

Almost of people with autism are male

Thought that autistic brain structure is exaggeration of normal male brain structure

AUTISM AS AN EXTREME MALE BRAIN CONDITION

(DETAILED)
People with autism score lower on measures of empathy and higher on measures of systemising. This is similar to normal

males who tend to have higher systemising scores than empathy scores. However, the difference is more marked in
people with autism. This led to the idea that autism is a form of an extreme male brain (EMB).
In fact, Autism and Autism Spectrum are far more common in males than in females. There are four times as many males

with autism than females, and nine times as many males than females with AS.
This idea of autism being caused by EMB is supported by other evidence:
Women are better than men at recognising someone's emotion from their eyes and people with autism score even lower than typical

males.
Men are faster than women at detecting target shapes in an image. People with autism are even faster than typical males.
Males score higher than females on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (a diagnostic questionnaire) and people with autism score even

higher.
Regions of the brain that are typically smaller in males (e.g. The prefrontal cortex and thalamus) are even smaller in people with

autism.
Regions of the brain that are typically larger in males ( e.g. Amygdala and cerebellum) are even larger in people with autism.

However, some of this evidence, especially in terms of brain structures, has not yet been reliably replicated

AUTISM AS AN EXTREME MALE BRAIN CONDITION APPLICATION

Brain weight
Female < male < autism

Pace of brain growth in early development

Female < male < autism

Spatial task ability (due to brain functioning)

Female < male < autism

Language developing skills

Female > male > autism

But hormomes could play a part: exposure to testosterone in the womb

Could be genes: 60% of MZ have autism if their twin have

AUTISM AS AN EXTREME MALE BRAIN CONDITION

DE BELLIS ET AL (2001)

Aim
To investigate the difference in brain functions regarding gender and age differences
By using MRI scan to see if grey matter decrease and white matte increase over time

Procedure
Finding

AUTISM AS AN EXTREME MALE BRAIN CONDITION

AUTISM AS AN EXTREME MALE BRAIN CONDITION

PRACTICAL: ARE MALE BETTER THAN FEMALE

AT ASSEMBLING JIGSAWS?
SECTION 6

ARE MALE BETTER THAN FEMALE AT ASSEMBLING JIGSAWS?