Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be the result of millions of years of evolution. Rapid neuronal evolution in humans is likely ASD’s genetic cause. Though autism can cause certain developmental difficulties, the evolution of genes may have contributed to humans’ complex minds today.

Your brain on genes

Autism’s “exceptionally high prevalence” in humans may be a “direct result of natural selection,” said a study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution . The development of ASD in humans is likely a result of the “peculiar bargains evolution struck to make us human,” said ZME Science .

The study found that the “most abundant type of outer-layer brain neurons, called L2/3 IT neurons, evolved exceptionally quickly in the human lineage compared to other apes,” said

See Full Page