Typically male Callista Images/SPL

Having a thicker outer layer of the brain is linked to an increased likelihood of having autism.

The cerebral cortex is the wrinkled outer layer of the brain that is responsible for many of our most human traits, including thought, language and consciousness. This layer is typically thicker in men than in women, and its structure has been linked to differences in personality.

Now brain scans have shown that women who have a more male-like brain structure are three times more likely to have been diagnosed with autism.


The study compared the brains of 98 men and women with high functioning autism with those of 98 people who don’t have autism.

These findings provide new insights into the brain’s role in sex differences in autism, according to the team that did the study. Autism is thought to be two to five times more common in men than in women, and some think the condition is caused by having an “extreme male brain”.

Journal reference: JAMA Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.3990

Read more: How many girls mask autism spectrum disorder, like me?