Elon Musk: Asperger’s Syndrome

As many of you now know Elon Musk stated that he has Asperger’s syndrome, or autism spectrum disorder. So what is this Asperger’s syndrome? Asperger Syndrome is diagnosed when a person struggles with social relationships and communication, and shows unusually narrow interests and resistance to change, but has good intelligence and language skills. Most genetic studies of autistic spectrum conditions treat autism as if they are all very similar, whereas in reality there is considerable variation (e.g., in language level and intellectual ability). The researchers looked for sequence variations (called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs) in the gene known as GABRB3. The volunteers were tested for 45 SNPs within this key gene. The team found that certain SNPs in GABRB3 were significantly more common in people with AS. They also discovered that additional genetic variations in the same gene were linked to scores on an empathy measure called the Empathy Quotient in the general population. You can find link to scientific paper in video description.