Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Dec 28:6:68.
doi: 10.1186/s13229-015-0063-7. eCollection 2015.

Social communication and emotion difficulties and second to fourth digit ratio in a large community-based sample

Manuela Barona  1 , Radha Kothari  1 , David Skuse  1 , Nadia Micali  2
Affiliations

Social communication and emotion difficulties and second to fourth digit ratio in a large community-based sample

Manuela Barona et al. Mol Autism. .

Abstract

Background: Recent research investigating the extreme male brain theory of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has drawn attention to the possibility that autistic type social difficulties may be associated with high prenatal testosterone exposure. This study aims to investigate the association between social communication and emotion recognition difficulties and second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) and circulating maternal testosterone during pregnancy in a large community-based cohort: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). A secondary aim is to investigate possible gender differences in the associations.

Methods: Data on social communication (Social and Communication Disorders Checklist, N = 7165), emotion recognition (emotional triangles, N = 5844 and diagnostics analysis of non-verbal accuracy, N = 7488) and 2D:4D (second to fourth digit ratio, N = 7159) were collected in childhood and early adolescence from questionnaires and face-to-face assessments. Complete data was available on 3515 children. Maternal circulating testosterone during pregnancy was available in a subsample of 89 children.

Results: Males had lower 2D:4D ratios than females [t (3513) = -9.775, p < 0.001]. An association was found between measures of social communication and emotion recognition, and the lowest 10 % of 2D:4D ratios. A significant association was found between maternal circulating testosterone and left hand 2D:4D [OR = 1.65, 95 % CI 1.1-2.4, p < 0.01].

Conclusions: Previous findings on the association between 2D:4D and social communication difficulties were not confirmed. A novel association between an extreme measure of 2D:4D in males suggests threshold effects and warrants replication.

Keywords: ALSPAC; Autism; Emotion recognition difficulties; Second to fourth digit ratio; Social communication; Testosterone.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Kršková L, Talarovičová A. Influence of maternal testosterone on the strategies in the open field behaviour of rats. Neuroendocrinol Lett. 2005;26:121–4. - PubMed
    1. Talarovičová A, Kršková L, Blažeková J. Testosterone enhancement during pregnancy influences the 2D:4D ratio and open field motor activity of rat siblings in adulthood. Horm Behav. 2009;55(1):235–9. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.10.010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Talarovičová A, Kršková L, Blažeková J. Testosterone enhancement during pregnancy influencesthe 2D:4D ratio and open field motor activity of rat siblings in adulthood. Horm Behav. 2009;55(1):235–9. - PubMed
    1. Auyeung B, Baron-Cohen S, Ashwin E, Knickmeyer R, Taylor K, Hackett G. et al. Fetal testosterone predicts sexually differentiated childhood behavior in girls and in boys. Psychol Sci. 2009;20(2):144–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hines M. Prenatal testosterone and gender-related behaviour. Eur J Endocrinol. 2006;155(suppl 1):S115–21. doi: 10.1530/eje.1.02236. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources