Simon BaronCohen

BaronCohen

Male vs female brains

Home About me Teaching Research Astronomy Chess Male-female test Science notes Weather Languages Photos Blogs

Vive le difference! -- French saying   Simon Baron-Cohen's recent book The Essential Difference: Men, Women and the Extreme Male Brain proposes that "The female brain is predominantly hard-wired for empathy. The male brain is predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building systems." The book contains a couple of tests that calculate your "empathy quotient" and your "systemizing quotient". There is also a test that measures your "autism quotient", and a fascinating test that measures how good you are at discerning someone's mood from their eyes. Here are online versions of the tests: Systemizing quotient test Empathy quotient test Autism Spectrum quotient test Mind in the eyes test Doing all four tests will probably take around 30 minutes. When you get your scores, there is a bit more explanation of typical ranges for men and women. Don't take these tests too seriously - Baron-Cohen himself says in his book that the 'typical' results are only averages, and many men and women differ in their scores. View the results so far. (Please be patient with this link - there are over 150,000 responses so far so it takes a few seconds to prepare the graphs of the results.) General information Asperger Syndrome University Students With Autism And Asperger's Syndrome Autism Research Unit

Department of Experimental Psychology: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen

Department of Experimental Psychology: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen Director, Autism Research Centre (ARC) Professor of Developmental Psychopathology Fellow, Trinity College Research interests: Autism, Asperger Syndrome, sex differences and empathy.

I work at the ARC where we have 3 major programs: (1) cognitive neuroscience into the causes of autism spectrum conditions (ASCs); (2) diagnosis, screening and epidemiology of ASCs; and (3) clinical/intervention research into what helps individuals on the autistic spectrum. The first program includes genetic, endocrine, fMRI, cognitive (including perceptual) and behavioural studies. The second program includes the evaluation of screening checklists at different points across the lifespan, from toddler screens (the CHAT) to primary school screens (the CAST) and adult screens (the AQ). The third program includes treatment studies and special educational methods. For more details, see www.autismresearchcentre.com
Some sample publications from the last 5 years:
Baron-Cohen, S, Ring, H, Wheelwright, S, Bullmore, E, Brammer, M, Simmons, A, & Williams, S, (1999) Social intelligence in the normal and autistic brain: an fMRI study. European Journal of Neuroscience, 11, 1891-1898.
Cox, A, Klein, K, Baird, G, Swettenham, J, Nightingale, N, Drew, A, & Baron-Cohen, S, (1999) Autism spectrum disorders at 20 and 42 months of age: stability of clinical and ADI-R diagnosis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 719-732.
Ring, H, Baron-Cohen, S, Williams, S, Wheelwright, S, Bullmore, E, Brammer, M, & Andrew, C, (1999) Cerebral correlates of preserved cognitive skills in autism. A functional MRI study of Embedded Figures Task performance. Brain, 122, 1305-1315.
Baird, G, Cox, A, Charman, T, Baron-Cohen, S, Swettenham, J, Wheelwright, S, & Drew, A, (2000) A screening instrument for autism at 18 months of age: A six year follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 694-702.
Baron-Cohen, S, Ring, H, Bullmore, E, Wheelwright, S, Ashwin, C, & Williams, S, (2000) The amygdala theory of autism. Neuroscience and Behavioural Reviews, 24, 355-364.
Baird, G, Charman, T, Cox, A, Baron-Cohen, S, Swettenham, J, Wheelwright, S, & Drew, A, (2001) Screening and surveillance for autism and pervasive developmental disorders. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 84, 468-475.
Adolphs, R, Baron-Cohen, S, & Tranel, D, (2002) Impaired Recognition of Social Emotions Following Amygdala Damage. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 14:8,1-11
Baron-Cohen, S, (2002) The extreme male brain theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 248-254.
Lutchmaya, S, Baron-Cohen, S, & Raggatt, P, (2002) Foetal testosterone and vocabulary size in 18 and 24 month old infants. Infant Behaviour and Development. 24(4), 418-424
Lutchmaya, S, Baron-Cohen, S, & Raggatt, P, (2002) Foetal testosterone and eye contact in 12-month-old infants. Infant Behaviour and Development, 25, 327-335
Baron-Cohen, S, Richler, J, Bisarya, D, Gurunathan, N, & Wheelwright, S, (2003), The Systemising Quotient (SQ): An investigation of adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism and normal sex differences. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series B. Special issue on “Autism : Mind and Brain”, 358, 361-374
Shaw, P, Lawrence E, Baron-Cohen, S, David, A S, (2003) Role of the amgydala in social sensitivity. Annals NY Academy of Science, 985 508-510
Stone, V, Baron-Cohen, S, Young, A, Calder, A, & Keane, J, (2003) Acquired theory of mind impairments in individuals with bilateral amygdala lesions. Neuropsychologia, 41, 209-220
Baron-Cohen, S, & Wheelwright, S, (2004) The Empathy Quotient (EQ). An investigation of adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 163-175
Knickmeyer, R, Baron-Cohen, S, Hines, M, & Raggatt, P, (2004) Foetal testosterone, social relationships, and restricted interests in children. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry 45, 1-13
Lutchmaya, S, Baron-Cohen, S, Raggatt, P, & Manning, J T, (2004) Maternal 2nd to 4th digit ratios and foetal testosterone. Early Human Development, 77, 23-28
Lawrence, E J, Shaw, P, Baker, D, Baron-Cohen, S, & David, A S, (2004) Measuring Empathy – reliability and validity of the Empathy Quotient. Psychological Medicine, 34, 911-919
Lawson, J, Baron-Cohen, S, Wheelwright, S, (2004) Empathizing and systemizing in adults with and without Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Development Disorders, 34, 301-310

© Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge Information provided by webmaster@psychol.cam.ac.uk

Simon Baron-Cohen - Wired 9.12: Take The AQ Test

Wired 9.12: Take The AQ Test

 Issue 9.12 | Dec 2001

Print, email, or fax this article for free.

Take The AQ Test
Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge's Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger's report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives.

		Definitely agree	Slightly agree	Slightly disagree	Definitely disagree
1	I prefer to do things with others rather than on my own.
2	I prefer to do things the same way over and over again.
3	If I try to imagine something, I find it very easy to create a picture in my mind.
4	I frequently get so strongly absorbed in one thing that I lose sight of other things.
5	I often notice small sounds when others do not.
6	I usually notice car number plates or similar strings of information.

Hot Tub Party?

This is a BIG toy! Kitten spins Watermelon

Gurdjieff

What is The Work?

"The Work is for those who are looking for something, who are not satisfied with what they have found in life, and who feel that there must be something else besides success or failure in life, besides what they have been taught at school and college and by their upbringing in general."

— G.I. Gurdjieff —

Uploaded by tednottingham on Oct 8, 2009

 

A presentation on the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff and the Fourth Way system of self-awareness and transformation of consciousness.

Additional material on these teachings can be found in the books:

"The Wisdom of the Fourth Way: Origins and Applications of a Perennial Teaching"
and
"The Fourth Way and Esoteric Christianity: An Introduction to the Teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff" which can be found here:
 
This introductory lecture examines key ideas, practices, and leading interpreters of these wisdom teachings which lead to practical change for those who undertake "The Work".
This is the full lecture running 14:40 minutes which was initially available as a three minute clip.

License:

Standard YouTube License

• As Seen On: Psychonauts and psych...

Illusion

Voted Best Scottish Short Joke

A bloke walks into a Glasgow library and says to the prim librarian,

'Excuse me Miss, dey ye hiv ony books on suicide?'

To which she stops doing her tasks, looks at him over the top of her glasses and says,

'Fook off, ye'll no bring it back!'

Learning to Crawl

10. Introduction to Neuroscience I - YouTube

10. Introduction to Neuroscience I - YouTube



 ploaded by StanfordUniversity on Feb 1, 2011

(April 21, 2010) Nathan Woodling and Anthony Chung-Ming Ng give a broad overview of the field of neuroscience and how it relates to human biology. They discuss the different lobes of the brain and the cells within as well as neuropharmacology and re-uptake.


Stanford University
http://www.stanford.edu

Stanford Department of Biology
http://biology.stanford.edu/

Stanford University Channel on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/stanford

Category:

Education

Tags:

• neuroscience
• human biology
• brain
• thought
• thinking process

Download this video

LICENSE: Creative Commons (Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works).
For more information about this license, please read: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/.

High-quality MP4 Learn more

by StanfordUniversity on Feb 1, 2011

(April 23, 2010) Patrick House discusses memories and how they are formed. Dana Turker then lectures about the autonomic nervous system and its functions.

Stanford University
http://www.stanford.edu

Stanford Department of Biology
http://biology.stanford.edu/

Stanford University Channel on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/stanford
Category:
  

Download this video

LICENSE: Creative Commons (Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works).

For more information about this license, please read: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/.

High-quality MP4 Learn more

I've always been attracted by the fantastic. - Dorothea Tanning

Portrait de famille (Family Portrait), 1954

Portrait de famille (Family Portrait)

1953-54
Oil on canvas
39 3/8 x 31 7/8 in.

Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

" ....I've always been attracted by the fantastic.  You see I was born in Galesburg, a hamlet of Illinois, which is nothing exciting in itself, but my father, of Swedish origin, a very authoritarian man ...

Marcel Duhamel:   This is particularly evident in Family Portrait, where all the characters are represented in proportion to the importance they had then in your eyes.  Looks like you settled accounts?

Not really ... It is more generally a comment on the hierarchy within the sacrosanct family.  My father, despite everything, brought us a breath of exoticism.  He told stories of distant snows, the fleeing boy skates on the ice, fast, fast ... the wolf at his heels ... I felt the hoarse wolf breath on my neck ... it was delicious.


[....J'ai toujours été attirée par le fantastique. Voyez-vous je suis née à Galesburg, un patelin de l'Illinois, ce qui n'a rien d'exaltant en soi, mais mon père, Suédois d'origine, homme très autoritaire ...

Marcel Duhamel:   C'est particulièrement visible dans Portrait de famille, où tous les personnages sont représentés proportionnellement à l'importance qu'ils avaient
alors à vos yeux. On dirait que vous y réglez des comptes?

Pas vraiment... C'est plus généralement un commentaire sur la hiérarchie au sein de la Sacrosainte Famille.  Mon père, malgré tout, nous apportait un souille d'exotisme. Il racontait des histoires de neiges lointaines, de garcon chaussé de patins fuyant sur la glace, vite, vite.  Le loup à ses trousses ... Je sentais l'haleine rauque du loup sur ma nuque ... c'était délicieux.]

     —from interview with Marcel Duhamel, Dorothea Tanning: Numéro Spécial de XXe Siècle.  Paris: Editions XXe Siècle, 1977, p. 110.

Source: http://www.dorotheatanning.org/