Androgens and eye movements in women and men during a test of mental rotation ability

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.01.011

Hormones and Behavior

Volume 52, Issue 2, August 2007, Pages 197-204

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.01.011 Get rights and content

Abstract

Eye movements were monitored in 16 women and 20 men during completion of a standard diagram-based test of mental rotation ability to provide measures of cognitive function not requiring conscious, decisional processes. Overall, women and men allocated visual attention during task performance in very similar, systematic ways. However, consistent with previous suggestions that sex differences in attentional processes during completion of the mental rotation task may exist, eye movements in men compared to women indicated greater discrimination and longer processing of correct alternatives during task performance. Other findings suggested that androgens may enhance cognitive processes that are recruited differentially by women and men as a function of the task. Specifically, smaller (i.e., more masculine) digit ratios were associated with men's shorter fixations on distracters, suggesting that perinatal androgen action may influence brain systems that facilitate the identification of relevant task stimuli. In women, higher circulating testosterone levels appeared to contribute to more general processes engaged during task performance, for example higher levels of visual persistence. It is possible that variability in the relative contribution of such hormone sensitive cognitive processes to accuracy scores as a function of different sample characteristics or assessment methods may partially account for the inconsistent findings of previous research on hormonal factors in mental rotation ability.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were 16 women and 20 men between 18 and 35 years of age who were enrolled in an introductory psychology course at Texas A&M University. Women and men reported being in good health (i.e., no systemic disease) and none were using hormonal preparations, including hormonal contraceptives. All participants were tested individually in a session lasting approximately 40 min. All participants provided signed, informed consent and received partial course credit for their participation in

Behavioral and hormone measures

There were no outliers (defined as two standard deviations above or below the mean) in the distribution of scores for the self-report behavioral measures and the hormone measures. As shown in Table 1, women and men were similar in age and in their scores on the vocabulary test. As expected, compared to women, men had higher (i.e., more male-typical) salivary levels of free testosterone and higher scores on the test of mental rotation ability. The means for digit ratios in women and men differed

Discussion

Eye movements in women and men were monitored during completion of a diagram-based test of mental rotation ability that typically shows a large sex difference in response accuracy. Consistent with our hypothesis, global measures of visual attention directed to the test stimuli during task performance in this research were sensitive to hormonal factors even though accuracy scores were not. These findings suggest that the contribution of hormonal factors to the underlying cognitive processes

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health grant MH071414 (GMA). The authors thank Mark G. Packard for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

References (57)

A. Aleman et al.
A single administration of testosterone improves visuospatial ability in young women
Psychoneuroendocrinology
(2004)
G.M. Alexander
Memory for face locations: emotional processing alters spatial abilities
Evolution and Human Behavior
(2005)
G.M. Alexander et al.
Androgen-behavior correlations in hypogonadal men and eugonadal men. II. Cognitive abilities
Hormones and Behavior
(1998)
G.M. Alexander et al.
Sex and spatial position effects on object location memory following intentional learning of object identities
Neuropsychologia
(2002)
E.J. Austin et al.
A preliminary investigation of the associations between personality, cognitive ability and digit ratio
Personality and Individual Differences
(2002)
W.M. Brown et al.
Masculinized finger length patterns in human males and females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Hormones and Behavior
(2002)
T. Butler et al.
Sex differences in mental rotation: top-down versus bottom-up processing
NeuroImage
(2006)
C.C.C. Cohen-Bendahan et al.
Prenatal sex hormone effects on child and adult sex-typed behavior: methods and findings
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
(2005)
J. Coolican et al.
Sexual dimorphism in the 2D/4D ratio and its relation to mental rotation performance
Evolution and Human Behavior
(2003)
D.A. Granger et al.
The “trouble” with salivary testosterone
Psychoneuroendocrinology
(2004)

E. Hampson

Estrogen-related variations in human spatial and articulatory-motor skills

Psychoneuroendocrinology

(1990)

E. Hampson

Variations in sex-related cognitive abilities across the menstrual cycle

Brain and Cognition

(1990)

M. Hines et al.

Spatial abilities following prenatal androgen abnormality: targeting and mental rotations performance in individuals with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Psychoneuroendocrinology

(2003)

C.K. Hooven et al.

The relationship of male testosterone to components of mental rotation

Neuropsychologia

(2004)

K. Jordan et al.

Women and men exhibit different cortical activation patterns during mental rotation tasks

Neuropsychologia

(2002)

P. Kempel et al.

Second-to-fourth digit length, testosterone and spatial ability

Intelligence

(2005)

J.T. Manning et al.

The second to fourth digit ratio and variation in the androgen receptor gene

Evolution and Human Behavior

(2003)

D. McFadden et al.

The relationships between otoacoustic emissions and relative lengths of fingers and toes in humans

Hormones and Behavior

(2003)

S.D. Moffat et al.

A curvilinear relationship between testosterone and spatial cognition in humans: possible influence of hand preference

Psychoneuroendocrinology

(1996)

M. Peters

Sex differences and the factor of time in solving Vandenberg and Kuse mental rotation problems

Brain and Cognition

(2005)

M. Peters et al.

A redrawn Vandenberg & Kuse mental rotations test: different versions and factors that affect performance

Brain and Cognition

(1995)

D.A. Putz et al.

Sex hormones and finger length: what does 2D:4D indicate?

Evolution and Human Behavior

(2004)

D. Richardson et al.

Representation, space, and Hollywood Squares: looking at things that aren't there anymore

Cognition

(2000)

D. Voyer et al.

Gender differences on the mental rotations test: a factor analysis

Acta Psychologica (Amsterdam)

(2004)

G.M. Alexander

An evolutionary perspective of sex-typed toy preferences: pink, blue and the brain

Archives of Sexual Behavior

(2003)

M. Baenninger et al.

The role of experience in spatial test performance: a meta-analysis

Sex Roles

(1989)

S.M. Breedlove et al.

The orthodox view of brain sexual differentiation

Brain, Behavior and Evolution

(1999)

N. Charness et al.

The perceptual aspect of skilled performance in chess: evidence from eye movements

Memory and Cognition

(2001)

Cited by (31)

The development of mental rotation ability across the first year after birth
2020, Advances in Child Development and Behavior
Mental rotation (MR) is the ability to imagine the appearance of an object from a different perspective. This ability is involved in many human cognitive and behavioral activities. We discuss studies that have examined MR in infants and its development across the first year after birth. Despite some conflicting findings across these studies, several conclusions can be reached. First, MR may be available to human infants as young as 3 months of age. Second, MR processes in infancy may be similar or identical to MR processes later in life. Third, there may be sex differences in MR performance, in general favoring males. Fourth, there appear to be multiple influences on infants' MR performance, including infants' motor activity, stimulus complexity, hormones, and parental attitudes. We conclude by calling for additional research to examine more carefully the causes and consequences of MR abilities early in life.
No relation between digit ratio (2D:4D) and visual attention patterns to sexually preferred and non-preferred stimuli
2018, Personality and Individual Differences
Citation Excerpt :
In their meta-analysis of gender differences in 2D:4D ratio, Hönekopp and Watson (2010) found a moderate gender difference, with considerable heterogeneity (possibly driven by soft tissue differences) that was moderated by type of finger length measurement (direct measurements and measurements from radiographs results in smaller gender differences than indirect measurements) and hand measured (a larger gender difference in the right hand). The 2D:4D ratio is correlated with other variables as cognitive abilities, aggression, or dominant personality (Alexander & Son, 2007; Barel & Tzischinsky, 2017; van der Meij et al., 2012). Recently, Turanovic, Pratt, and Piquero (2017) found an association between 2D:4D digit ratio and aggression in their meta-analysis, with a weak but statistically significant effect size across a variety of methodological conditions (measures, kinds of samples).
Digit ratio (2D:4D) is a marker of prenatal androgenic exposure that is correlated with different behaviour patterns. Here, we explore the relationship between 2D:4D ratio and early versus late attention to sexually preferred stimuli using an eye-tracking paradigm with 78 androphilic or gynephilic men and women. We simultaneously presented preferred and non-preferred adult stimuli and assessed visual attention across time to first fixation and total duration fixation on entire body and three specific areas (face, chest and pelvis), and investigated whether digit ratio was related to visual attentional biases towards sexually preferred stimuli. As expected, participants tended to fixate faster and for more time on the preferred gender. However, we found no significant interactions between 2D:4D and attentional biases towards the preferred gender, for any measure of attention. These results suggest that attention towards the preferred gender is not related to the 2D:4D digit ratio.
Testosterone influences volitional, but not reflexive orienting of attention in human males
2017, Physiology and Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
Testosterone (T) is linked to DA metabolism within the rat brain [13,41,42]. In human males, T impacts DA driven cognitive functions such as verbal memory [9,36], working memory in older men [20], visual discriminations [1], stimulus identification [17], and decision making [4,7]. These links between gonadal hormone concentrations and cognitive function highlight the importance of considering baseline hormones when investigating attention [11].
The impact of testosterone (T) on the exogenous (Experiment 1) and endogenous (Experiment 2) orienting of visual attention in males was examined. Sixteen male participants completed both an exogenous and an endogenous cuing task on two separate days. About 2–3 h prior to testing, either a placebo or a dose of T was administered. The inhibition of return (IOR) phenomenon was observed during the exogenous cuing task, but IOR was not influenced by T. During the endogenous task, participants demonstrated the expected cuing effects on both days. However, longer reaction time to invalid target locations was observed following T-administration. The manipulation of T-levels in males provides converging evidence of dissociation between reflexive and volitional orienting of attention.
Cars or dolls? Influence of the stereotyped nature of the items on children's mental-rotation performance
2015, Learning and Individual Differences
Citation Excerpt :
Mixed results have a lot to commend that next to biological agents, socio-cultural factors play an important role in spatial ability development. Studies with infants and neuropsychological research indicate that specific genes (Bock & Kolakowski, 1973; Pezaris & Casey, 1991; Quinn & Liben, 2013) and gender hormone levels (Alexander & Son, 2007; Hausmann, Slabbekorn, Van Goosen, Cohen-Kettenis, & Güntürkün, 2000; Hausmann, Schoofs, Rosenthal, & Jordan, 2009) contribute to gender differences favoring males. At the same time, the malleability of spatial abilities is well demonstrated (Uttal et al., 2012), and the influence of experiential variables, e.g. spatial activities and the parental use of spatial language, on mental-rotation performance has been proofed in plenty surveys in adults (Nazareth, Herrera, & Pruden, 2013; Baenninger & Newcombe, 1989) and in children (Quaiser-Pohl, Geiser, & Lehmann, 2005; Casasola, 2008).
This study inquired the influence of stimulus features on children's mental-rotation performance with novel gender-stereotyped test versions (M-MRT and F-MRT) administered to 290 elementary-school children (147 second graders and 143 fourth graders; age: M = 8.87, SD = 1.09). No significant gender difference and no significant interaction of gender and stimulus type could be demonstrated. Multiple regression revealed that mental-rotation performance was predicted by perceptual speed and stimulus type (female or male stereotyped) but not by the perceived stereotyped nature or the perceived familiarity of the stimuli. As expected the objects used in the M-MRT were more familiar to boys than to girls, while the objects used in the F-MRT were more familiar to girls than to boys. Furthermore, the cube figures (based on Shepard & Metzler, 1971) were perceived as more male stereotyped. Overall, findings suggest that stimulus attributes influence mental-rotation performance. Results can be discussed with regard to the influence of the stimulus characteristics of Shepard and Metzler's cube figures on the large gender differences in tests in which these figures are used.
The association between the disruption of motor imagery and the number of depressive episodes of major depression
2013, Journal of Affective Disorders
Citation Excerpt :
Sex differences in cognition have been largely investigated. It was commonly assumed that men and women, apart from their anatomy and physiology, also differ in various behaviours such as their approaches to solving intellectual problems (Alexander and Son, 2007). The most consistent sex differences favoring females were observed in object location memory involving the left hemisphere whereas the most consistent sex differences favoring males were observed in tasks that require mental rotation involving the right hemisphere (Hahn et al., 2010).
Mental rotation performance may be used as an index of mental slowing or bradyphrenia, and may reflect, in particular, speed of motor preparation. Previous studies suggest depressive patients present the correlates of impaired behavioural performance for mental rotation and psychomotor disturbance. The aim of this study is to compare the mental rotation abilities of patients with a first episode of depression, recurrent depression and healthy control subjects with regard to hand tasks.
We tested 32 first episode of depression, 38 recurrent depression and 36 healthy control subjects by evaluating the performance of depressed patients with regard to the hand mental rotation tasks.
First, the first episode and recurrent depression subjects were significantly slower and made more errors than controls in mentally rotating hands. Second, the first depressive episode but not the recurrent depression displayed the same pattern of response times to stimuli at various orientations relative to control subjects in the hand task. Third, in particular, recurrent depression subjects were significantly slower and made more errors during the mental transformation of hands than first depressive episode relative to control subjects and the differences were significantly larger in female than male subjects in the mental rotation hand task.
Patients were on antidepressant medication.
These results suggest that the impaired behavioural performance for mental representation processing are related to the number of previous episodes. Moreover, the recurrent major depressive episodes may contribute to the reinforcement of cognitive impairments and further the development or maintenance of mental representation dysfunctions, especially in female patients. A deficit on mental rotation in the depressive patients may be potential biomarkers for recurrence chronically.
Mental rotation in intellectually gifted boys is affected by the androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism
2013, Neuropsychologia
Citation Excerpt :
But in this study number of CAG repeats was not correlated with any cognitive skills (Celec et al., 2013). Even though some authors argue that contribution of androgens to human performance on mental rotation tasks may be limited to earlier, organizational periods (Courvoisier et al., 2013; Puts et al., 2010), there is some evidence supporting the existence of the association between testosterone levels and mental rotation performance (Alexander & Son, 2007; O'Connor, Archer, Hair, & Wu, 2001). Some studies have reported a positive relationship (the higher the testosterone level, the higher the performance) (Hausmann, Schoofs, Rosenthal, & Jordan, 2009), whereas others have found the relationship to follow an inverted U-shape, with best performance occurring when testosterone is neither too low nor too high (O'Connor et al., 2001) or found a negative relationship (Vuoksimaa, Kaprio, Eriksson, & Rose, 2012).
Testosterone was shown to organize brain and modulate cognitive functions. It is currently unknown whether mental rotation is also associated with prenatal testosterone exposure and testosterone-related genetic polymorphisms. The aim of our study was to analyze associations between mental rotation performance, the actual testosterone levels, the prenatal testosterone level (expressed as 2D:4D ratio) and the androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism in intellectually gifted boys. One hundred forty-seven boys aged 10–18 years with IQ>130 were enrolled. Saliva samples were collected and used for ELISA of actual levels of salivary testosterone. The 2D:4D finger length ratio as an indicator of prenatal testosterone was measured on both hands and averaged. Amthauer mental rotation test was used for the assessment of this spatial ability. The CAG repeat polymorphism in the androgen receptor gene was analyzed using PCR and capillary electrophoresis. Linear regression revealed that 2D:4D finger length ratio and the number of CAG repeats in the androgen receptor gene were associated with mental rotation. Actual levels of testosterone did not correlate significantly with mental rotation. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that after adjustment of age as a confounding variable, only the effect of the genetic polymorphism was significant. The results are in line with our previous genetic analysis of intellectually gifted boys showing the importance of CAG repeat polymorphism in the androgen receptor gene. Details of the interactions between androgen signaling, testosterone levels and its metabolism especially during the prenatal development of brain function remain to be elucidated.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Androgens and eye movements in women and men during a test of mental rotation ability

Abstract

Section snippets

Participants

Behavioral and hormone measures

Discussion

Acknowledgments

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Evolution and Human Behavior

Hormones and Behavior

Neuropsychologia

Personality and Individual Differences

Hormones and Behavior

NeuroImage

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

Evolution and Human Behavior

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Brain and Cognition

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

Intelligence

Evolution and Human Behavior

Hormones and Behavior

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Brain and Cognition

Brain and Cognition

Evolution and Human Behavior

Cognition

Acta Psychologica (Amsterdam)

An evolutionary perspective of sex-typed toy preferences: pink, blue and the brain

Archives of Sexual Behavior

The role of experience in spatial test performance: a meta-analysis

Sex Roles

The orthodox view of brain sexual differentiation

Brain, Behavior and Evolution

The perceptual aspect of skilled performance in chess: evidence from eye movements

Memory and Cognition