Dr. Emily Casanova is a professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at Loyola University in New Orleans who studies autism, human/neanderthal hybridization, and sundry soft tissue disorders that are often co-inherited with autism. Her research has shown that autism spectrum disorders are underpinned by a complex network of genetic interactions whose first emergence can be traced back to human/neanderthal interbreeding nearly 40,000 years ago. This suggests that, contrary to popular belief, the grounds for autism spectrum disorders long predate the first diagnoses made in the early 20th century. We talk about why it’s so hard to come up with a genetic cause for autism, why “species” might not mean what we think it does, intricacies of embryogenesis, and why environmental causes are so hard to talk about. Sign up for our Patreon and get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB AND rock some Demystify Gear to spread the word: https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com/ OR do your Amazon shopping through this link for Dr. Casanova's Book, Defining Autism: https://amzn.to/4d8sK30 00:00 Go! 09:29 The Evolution of Autism Diagnosis and Prevalence 11:04 Environmental Factors and Autism 12:12 The Relationship Between Technology and Psychological Conditions 14:11 The Complexity of Autism and Its Causes 29:19 Understanding Intellectual Disability and Autism 30:02 The Core Issues in Autism 31:27 The Diagnosis of Autism 34:14 Stimming and Repetitive Behaviors 35:07 The Evolution of Autism Genes 01:16:33 Genetic Sequencing and Human Evolution 01:22:00 The Complexity of Human Evolution 01:24:00 The Impact of Hybridization on Human Evolution 01:25:43 DNA and Neanderthal Hybridization 01:27:04 Autism and Neanderthals 01:30:12 Rare DNA Variants and Autism 02:10:48 The Dangers of Unchecked Technological Advancement 02:12:14 The Resilience of Humanity #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast, #AutismResearch, #NeurodiversityScience, #HumanEvolution, #NeanderthalDNA, #GeneticComplexity, #NeuroscienceInsights, #SpeciesBlending, #AutismOrigins, #EmbryologyTalks, #EnvironmentalFactors, #AutismSpectrum, #HumanNeandertalHybridization, #GeneticInteractions, Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671