This theoretical paper proposes a neurobiological continuum model in which intellectual giftedness and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represent differentiated expressions of the same high-performance logical-semantic cognitive module, diverging primarily in the degree of coupling between this module and socioemotional regulatory networks. Drawing on convergent evidence from neurogenomics, evolutionary neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience, we argue that both phenotypes share a common polygenic architecture centered on layer 2/3 intratelencephalic excitatory neurons (L2/3 IT) — a cell type that underwent accelerated positive selection in the human lineage — and on structural correlates including hippocampal subfield hypertrophy and prefrontal white matter connectivity. The phenotypic differentiation between adapted giftedness and autism-spectrum presentations is proposed to arise from the degree of orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (OFC/vmPFC) development and its functional coupling with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) logical engine. We introduce a three-axis model (Logical-Semantic Module Strength × Socioemotional Integration × Developmental Regulatory Plasticity) to map these phenotypic positions. The framework reconciles existing GWAS data on bidirectional ASD–intelligence genetic overlap with cellular evolutionary findings and offers testable predictions for neuroimaging and genomic research.
Fabiano Abreu Agrela Rodrigues (Sun,) studied this question.