Open AccessLa ratio interdigital D2:D4 y su relación con otros indicadores de androgenización en progenitores de personas con trastornos del espectro autista
Author(s) -
Ángel RomeroMartínez,
S. De Andrés-García,
Patricia Sariñana-González,
M.V. Sanchis-Calatayud,
Juan M. Roa,
Esperanza GonzálezBono,
Luís Moya-Albiol
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
anales de psicología
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1695-2294
pISSN - 0212-9728
DOI - 10.6018/analesps.29.1.135501
Subject(s) - digit ratio , offspring , autism , psychology , trait , empathy , autism spectrum disorder , sex ratio , developmental psychology , population , autistic traits , testosterone (patch) , clinical psychology , medicine , pregnancy , psychiatry , biology , genetics , computer science , programming language , environmental health
The 2D:4D ratio is the quotient between the index and ring fin-ger lengths and is a non-direct indicator of androgenisation. If prenatal tes-tosterone levels in the amniotic fluid are high then the probability increases of developing lower ratio values. It has been suggested that people with au-tism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their parents may have highly andro-genised brains, and for this reason the 2D:4D ratio is used as a marker of such idiosyncrasies. This study aims to analyse if parents of people with ASD differ from the general population in several parameters of andro-genisation related to the 2D:4D ratio. The sample was composed of 43 parents of offspring with ASD and 42 controls who had the 2D:4D ratio measured, answered several trait questionnaires, and had their testosterone and cortisol levels measured. Although there were no differences between groups in the 2D:4D ratio, the left hand of the ASD parents showed greater predictive ability to explain empathy and autism quotients, coopera-tive behaviour, and cortisol levels. In addition, the severity of the symp-toms of their offspring was predicted only with male parents. The results indicate that the 2D:4D ratio could be used together with other parameters as an indicator of the likelihood of developing autistic traits in offspring