Just a theory I had

Preface: This might trigger some people but that's not my intent. So I wrote this theory with a particular expression of autism in mind- the highly empathetic, highly sensitive individual. I guess what inspired this is that a lot of my autistic traits seem very much like trauma responses. I've had some level of trauma in my life but it doesn't feel congruent with the intensity of my symptoms at times. And I do very much believe we inherent trauma responses.

Before getting into the theory, we first need to understand a few things about epigenetics, mitochondria and metabolism, as well as ancestral trauma which is also a function of epigenetics.

Epigenetics is the idea that genes in and of themselves do not determine biological outcomes but rather environmental factors and lifestyle choices will either activate or deactivate gene expression. Epigenetic influences do not have to be experienced by the individual themselves in order for them to influence their gene expression- epigenetic influences experienced by ancestors can influence the epigenetic profile of future generations. Epigenetic influences can be dietary, toxin exposure, life style choices, trauma, etc.

We also need to understand that mitochondria is responsible for 90% of metabolism- they make atp to fuel the cells. They also play an important role in turning on or turning off certain genes. And we also need to understand that chronic fight or flight response as result of trauma will damage mitochondria and lead to overall cell damage as energy demands become too high for the mitochondria to keep up with. Trauma effects the metabolic system and gene expression as follows:

Traumatic experiences activate the fight or flight system, this results in elevated heart rate, increased adrenaline and cortisol and increased blood sugar, as well as several other immediate bodily changes. If the trauma goes unresolved, the body stays in fight or flight which results in chronic elevated cortisol levels. These higher cortisol levels create hyper metabolism- where the mitochondria are working over time to keep up with energy demands. Too much of the energy produced by the mitochondria is being used to fuel an active fight or flight system that may or may not be warranted and this results in other cellular demands not being tended to. The excess cortisol will also trap mRNA (the code for various cell functions) in these little bubbles called stress granules. This results in basic cell functions not occurring and the cells become damaged. And this is essentially what creates mental illness, brain cells are unable to function properly and the mitochondria begin modifying gene expression.

Intergenerational trauma takes this process a step further. The modified gene expression carries on to the next generation (so long as the environment keeps those genes active). We can also see this ancestral trauma in mice. Offspring born from traumatized parents who were raised by nonbiological parents who did not have trauma behaved similar to offspring raised by nonbiological traumatized parents who consequently inflicted trauma on their unrelated children.

Now onto the theory. The basis of my theory is that autism is a type of inherited cptsd- as in ancestors have experienced trauma from mainly care givers and other members of the community and as an anticipation for future generations to experience similar trauma, certain genetic traits are either activated or mutated for future generations because those traits are viewed as beneficial for survival within a traumatic environment. But ultimately because these traits are extremely taxing on the mitochondria and ultimately lead to cellular damage when energy demands are unmet, unintended maladaptive genetic mutations occur resulting in the more negative traits associated with autism like a propensity toward developing oxidative stress and reduced ability to manage oxidative stress.

If care takers are not providing a safe environment, and if the brain and body has the experience of surviving the experience despite the energetic taxation on the body as result of chronic fight or flight response, cptsd adaptations will be hard wired into the brain as crucial for survival. And I wonder if autism is a genetic adaptation trying to energetically optimize cptsd survival skills. For instance, instead of having to learn through trauma that people cannot be trusted, it's almost innate to autistic people; people with cptsd learn to become very empathetic as way to manage the unpredictable nature of their care takers, whereas empathy is a more innate trait to a lot of autistic people. People with cptsd also have abnormal eye contact- either avoiding eye contact (to avoid forming connections because people are viewed as unsafe) or keeping overly strong eye contact (to stay aware of potential threats). Trouble with eye contact is also a more innate trait to autistic people. Also both people with cptsd and autism have overactive fight or flight systems; hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli (it's important to have a high level of awareness in an unsafe environment). There is also a similar mistrust for ultimate authority (wanting to understand why things are done a certain way before blindly doing them) between cptsd and autistic individuals. Lastly dissociation is also fairly common for both cptsd and autism as it helps to avoid emotional turmoil in the presence of an overwhelming environment.

[Edit: so I learned recently that the reason why some autistic people have trouble engaging in social interaction is because the part of the brain that responds positively to social interaction isn't properly stimulated. Imagine an ancestor whose only social interactions are largely negative, the wiring in their brain that creates a dopamine reward in response to social interaction would start to unwire itself. And through epigenetics this could be passed on to future generations]

And ultimately because these adaptations are energetically taxing, the brains of autistic people may have developed developed certain behaviors to improve metabolic functioning, as well as, various short cuts to limit energy needs. For instance, stimming may be an effort to improve metabolic functioning since it increases fat mobility around the body. Short cuts to limit energy usage may be responsible for the differences in memory. Autistic people often times form very strong memories very quickly for special interests and they also tend to be very good at pattern recognition (perhaps this is intended to optimize memory storage and access for things that are necessary for survival) while long term memory access for things outside of the special interest and important patterns may be limited. Short term and working memory may also be at a deficit because the energy requirement may outweigh the reward in an unpredictable, traumatic environment where short-term action may not yield much success vs relying on habitual behaviors to recover from trauma may be more efficient.

It's also interesting to note that women with ptsd have a 2-3 times increased risk of giving birth to a child with autism. Also 44% of autistic adults fit a diagnosis for ptsd which is significantly higher than the general population. It could be the case that autistic people are experiencing a higher prevalence of traumatic events because of their differences but I would argue that they are already more susceptible to the development of ptsd because of genetic and epigenetic factors. Ptsd appears to largely be a case of epigenetics at play and not a guarantee as the result of trauma as only about 20% of adults will develop ptsd following a traumatic event. Autistic people may be more susceptible to the development of ptsd because they experience things more intensely and are less likely to receive proper social support following the event or they already have an epigenetic profile that increases their chance of developing ptsd. It's also interesting to see that hunter gatherer people, while being very prone to experiencing traumatic events, have minimal instances of both ptsd and autism likely due to social and other environmental factors limiting the epigenetic expression or genetic mutations relating to ptsd and autism.

And there I conclude my theory. What are y'all's thoughts?