đ„°đđ„°WE ARE TAUGHT TO JUDGE INTELLIGENCE BY EYE CONTACT, STILLNESS AND CONTROL. BUT THESE ARE MOTOR SKILLS AND HAVE NOITHING TO DO WITH INTELLIGENCE. many times autistic intelligence far exceeds the limits on how we’ve been trained to recognize it!
đ§ This mean humans intelligence wouldn’t be possible without the existence of Autism.
A groundbreaking study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution suggests that autism and schizophrenia may be evolutionary trade-offs linked to what makes humans uniquely intelligent.
Researchers from Stanford University found that certain genes tied to our advanced cognitive abilitiesâlike language, reasoning, and abstract thinkingâalso increase the likelihood of neurodevelopmental conditions.
By comparing brain cell RNA across six mammalian species, including chimpanzees and humans, they discovered that specific neurons in the human neocortex evolved far more rapidly, particularly those tied to genes associated with autism and schizophrenia.
These findings lend powerful support to the long-standing theory that some mental health conditions are byproducts of the same genetic changes that shaped human intellect. The researchers caution that this doesnât mean neurodivergent individuals are more or less intelligent; rather, the same evolutionary pressures that gave humans their mental edge also heightened susceptibility to certain brain differences. Much like the sickle cell gene that protects against malaria but can also cause disease, these genetic shifts may have offered survival advantages while simultaneously increasing neurodiversity in modern humans.
source https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/42/9/msaf189/8245036
Starr, A., et al. (2025). Human-Specific Neuron Type Expression Changes in Association With Autism and Schizophrenia Risk Genes. Molecular Biology and Evolution.