How Neanderthal DNA Might Be Connected to Autism

Have you ever felt like your brain was wired for a different time? Maybe it picks up patterns no one else sees, or thinks in pictures instead of words? What if some of those traits weren’t just signs of autism, but also echoes of something much older? A new study ⁽¹⁾ suggests that some autistic traits might be linked to DNA we inherited from our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals. Yes, really. And it’s giving us a whole new way to understand where our neurodivergence might come from.

Do autistic people have Neanderthal DNA?

Researchers recently examined the DNA of thousands of autistic people and their siblings in the U.S., thanks to data from the SPARK autism study and other genetics databases. And they found something really interesting: Some rare genetic variants passed down from Neanderthals are more common in autistic people than in non-autistic people.

This was consistent across several ethnic backgrounds (Black non-Hispanic, white Hispanic, and white non-Hispanic). And what is even more interesting: some of the same Neanderthal DNA is connected to things like epilepsy, intellectual disability, and language regression, which are conditions that often occur alongside autism.

Autistic traits might have served a purpose for ancient humans

Let’s be clear: this doesn’t mean autism is something that is caused by Neanderthal DNA. What it suggests is that some of the genetic building blocks for autistic traits have been present in our DNA for tens of thousands of years.

It also means those traits may have been beneficial to our ancestors at some point, or at least stuck around long enough to be passed down. That includes things like:

• Strong visual thinking
• Pattern recognition
• Focused attention
• Unique brain connectivity

Does this sound familiar? These are all traits which many autistic people count among their strengths, and which their siblings often show as well.

Visual strengths and ancient minds

It is interesting that the study connects some of the Neanderthal DNA with different ways in which the brain processes visual information, especially in areas involved in attention and pattern detection.

In autistic people, those same brain areas often light up in tasks involving math, memory, or visual scanning. Some researchers call them “islands of ability,” and they may help explain why some of us thrive in logic-heavy or creative fields, while we struggle socially at the same time.

This is not something the researchers concluded, but the possibility is interesting: Could it be that some of the traits that made Neanderthals great toolmakers and visual thinkers are still with us today, expressed in our autistic brains?

Allistic siblings share the Neanderthal gene patterns

Here’s another twist: some allistic siblings of autistic people also share these same gene patterns associated with Neanderthals, although to a lesser extent. That supports the idea of a broader autism phenotype—a spectrum of traits that run in families, even if not everyone is formally diagnosed.

Our brains aren’t broken 

This study is important because it challenges the outdated idea that autistic traits are just “dysfunctions.” Instead, it supports the view that autism is part of natural human variation, a product of our long and complex history.

It adds weight to something many of us already know: we’re not broken—we’re different. And those differences may have served a purpose in human history.

But keep in mind, this research is still new, and genetics is a complicated subject. Not everyone with autism has these specific gene variants, and just because someone has Neanderthal DNA, it doesn’t mean they are or aren’t autistic.

But it does open up some powerful conversations about where we come from—and how our unique minds might be rooted in something much older than modern labels.

Sources:

(1) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02593-7

Do you want to see more blog posts like this? Subscribe to my newsletter and get them right into your mailbox!