Autism theory reshaped as pioneer regrets 'extreme male brain' label amid major Cambridge donation

Renowned autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen says the 'extreme male brain' label is unhelpful, even as his team advances health-focused autism research funded by a $34.5 million donation to Cambridge University to establish the Lisa Yang Centre for Autism Research and a future clinical centre; the effort seeks to improve life expectancy, enable earlier diagnosis, and explore cardiovascular risk in autistic people—especially women—while emphasizing autistic input in setting priorities.