The DOI matches its Crossref record; 225 of the 225 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sex Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Review
Open accessAbstract
Purpose of review Neurodevelopmental disorders disproportionately affect males. The mechanisms underlying male vulnerability or female protection are not known and remain understudied. Determining the processes involved is crucial to understanding the etiology and advancing treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we review current findings and theories that contribute to male preponderance of neurodevelopmental disorders, with a focus on autism.Recent findings Recent work on the biological basis of the male preponderance of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders includes discussion of a higher genetic burden in females and sex-specific gene mutations or epigenetic changes that differentially confer risk to males or protection to females. Other mechanisms discussed are sex chromosome and sex hormone involvement. Specifically, fetal testosterone is involved in many aspects of development and may interact with neurotransmitter, neuropeptide, or immune pathways to contribute to male vulnerability. Finally, the possibilities of female underdiagnosis and a multi-hit hypothesis are discussed. This review highlights current theories of male bias in developmental disorders. Topics include environmental, genetic, and epigenetic mechanisms; theories of sex chromosomes, hormones, neuroendocrine, and immune function; underdiagnosis of females; and a multi-hit hypothesis.
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“ASD is ~4 times more prevalent in boys than in girls (16, 31).”
From Where Sex Meets Gender: How Sex and Gender Come Together to Cause Sex Differences in Mental Illness (2022) · cites this paper as [31]
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1 retracted
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RetractedOxytocin increases trust in humans
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Insights into autism spectrum disorder genomic architecture and biology from 71 risk loci
Sanders, S. J., He, X., Willsey, A. J., Ercan-Sencicek, A. G., Samocha, K. E., Cicek, A. E., Murtha, M. T., Bal, V. H., Bishop, S. L., Dong, S., et al. (2015) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.016 · Cited by 1,430
“Putting on My Best Normal”: Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions
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Oxytocin improves “mind-reading” in humans
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Oxytocin shapes the neural circuitry of trust and trust adaptation in humans
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Sex differences in autism spectrum disorders
Werling, D. M., & Geschwind, D. H. (2013) · Current Opinion in Neurology · doi:10.1097/wco.0b013e32835ee548 · Cited by 1,245
Loss of mTOR-Dependent Macroautophagy Causes Autistic-like Synaptic Pruning Deficits
Tang, G., Gudsnuk, K., Kuo, S.-H., Cotrina, M. L., Rosoklija, G., Sosunov, A., Sonders, M. S., Kanter, E., Castagna, C., Yamamoto, A., et al. (2014) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.07.040 · Cited by 1,146
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Demetriou, E. A., DeMayo, M. M., & Guastella, A. J. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00753 · Cited by 274
Sex differences in neurodevelopmental disorders
May, T., Adesina, I., McGillivray, J., & Rinehart, N. J. (2019) · Current Opinion in Neurology · doi:10.1097/wco.0000000000000714 · Cited by 235
Walsh, M. J. M., Wallace, G. L., Gallegos, S. M., & Braden, B. B. (2021) · NeuroImage: Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102719 · Cited by 97
Sociability Deficits and Altered Amygdala Circuits in Mice Lacking Pcdh10, an Autism Associated Gene
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Self-citationSymeonides, C., Vacy, K., Thomson, S., Tanner, S., Chua, H. K., Dixit, S., Mansell, T., O’Hely, M., Novakovic, B., Herbstman, J. B., et al. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-48897-8 · Cited by 66
Where Sex Meets Gender: How Sex and Gender Come Together to Cause Sex Differences in Mental Illness
Christiansen, D. M., McCarthy, M. M., & Seeman, M. V. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.856436 · Cited by 65
“Autism Spectrum Disorders ASD is∼4 timesmore prevalent in boys than in girls (16, 31).”
BackgroundMo, K., Sadoway, T., Bonato, S., Ameis, S. H., Anagnostou, E., Lerch, J. P., Taylor, M. J., & Lai, M.-C. (2021) · NeuroImage: Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102811 · Cited by 53
Deep phenotyping reveals movement phenotypes in mouse neurodevelopmental models
Klibaite, U., Kislin, M., Verpeut, J. L., Bergeler, S., Sun, X., Shaevitz, J. W., & Wang, S. S.-H. (2022) · Molecular Autism · doi:10.1186/s13229-022-00492-8 · Cited by 41
Endocrine insights into the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder
Wilson, H. A., Creighton, C., Scharfman, H., Choleris, E., & MacLusky, N. J. (2021) · The Neuroscientist · doi:10.1177/1073858420952046 · Cited by 23
Hyperactive behavior in female rats in utero‐exposed to group B Streptococcus‐induced inflammation
Allard, M., Brochu, M., Bergeron, J. D., & Sebire, G. (2018) · International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2018.06.005 · Cited by 22
Excess Neonatal Testosterone Causes Male-Specific Social and Fear Memory Deficits in Wild-Type Mice
Quiñones-Labernik, P., Blocklinger, K. L., Bruce, M. R., Hagan, E., Preuschl, D., Tesar, C., & Ferri, S. L. (2025) · eneuro · doi:10.1523/eneuro.0020-25.2025 · Cited by 4
“…neuropeptide signaling, neurogenesis, synaptic programming, and cell differentiation, migration, and death are in fl uenced by gonadal hormones during development and may be involved in the social and fear memory de fi cits (Baron-Cohen et al., 2005, 2011; Schaafsma et al., 2017; Ferri et al., 2018).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Ferri, S. L., Abel, T., & Brodkin, E. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Iowa (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Brodkin, Edward S.
- Venue
- Current Psychiatry Reports
- Published
- 2018-02
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 9-9
- ISSN
- 1523-3812 (ISSN-L)
- 1535-1645
- PMC
- PMC6477922
- OpenAlex
- W2790546718
- Cited by
- 392
- References
- 225
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 63 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 58 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 7
- FWCI
- 4.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Current Psychiatry Reports (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Pennsylvania
- National Institute of Mental Health (R34MH104407)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, sex differences, male preponderance, neurodevelopmental disorders, fetal testosterone, sex hormones, sex chromosomes, epigenetics, immune function, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides
- MeSH terms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Psychopathology, Sex Factors, Epigenesis, Genetic, Protective Factors
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