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KF Sex difference or hormonal difference in mental rotation? The influence of ovarian milieu
Univ Toronto, Canada.
Univ Toronto, Canada.
Univ Toronto, Canada.
Univ Toronto, Canada.
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2020 (English)In: Psychoneuroendocrinology, ISSN 0306-4530, E-ISSN 1873-3360, Vol. 115, article id UNSP 104488Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Sex differences in visuospatial cognition have long been reported, with men being advantaged on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT). The data, however, are variable, and sensitive to design parameters. When men and women are compared directly, with women in different hormonal milieus combined, there seem to be sex differences. When women alone are studied, taking into account different ovarian steroid concentrations and treatments, MRT performance varies with these changes. Indeed, several reports describe better performance among women with reduced estrogens. To better understand whether the sex difference in MRT persists once hormonal status is considered, we recruited reproductive age adults designated male and female at birth (MAB, FAB), and administered the Vandenberg-Kuse (V/K) MRT-comparing performance among MAB (n=169) and FAB (n=219). For FAB combined, we found a sex difference with MAB performing better than FAB. However, when FAB were analyzed by current menstrual cycle phase (Early Follicular (EF), Periovulatory (PO), Midluteal (ML)) or by hormone therapy (transmasculine testosterone administration (TM+), oral contraceptive (OC) ingestion prior to (OC+) or after cognitive testing (OC-)), low-estradiol groups (EF, OC-, TM+) performed as strongly as MAB, and had better MRT than cycling FAB in high-estradiol menstrual cycle phases (PO, ML). On a verbal memory control task, neither a sex difference nor a low estrogen advantage was detected, although performance varied with hormonal milieu. Our findings support a dynamic model of spatial performance and suggest that both MAB and FAB perform strongly on MRT, contingent on hormonal status.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD , 2020. Vol. 115, article id UNSP 104488
Keywords [en]
Mental rotation; Sex differences; Estradiol; Menstrual cycle; Cross-sex hormone therapy; Oral contraceptives
National Category
Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-165645DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104488ISI: 000528206800001PubMedID: 31899008OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-165645DiVA, id: diva2:1429530
Note

Funding Agencies|Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Womens Brain Health and Aging [WJP150643]; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Alzheimers AssociationAlzheimers Association; Brain Canada Foundation

Available from: 2020-05-11 Created: 2020-05-11 Last updated: 2020-05-11

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