Prenatal testosterone does not explain sex differences in spatial ability

Sci Rep. 2018 Sep 12;8(1):13653. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-31704-y.

Abstract

The most consistent sex differences in cognition are found for spatial ability, in which males, on average, outperform females. Utilizing a twin design, two studies have shown that females with male co-twins perform better than females with female co-twins on a mental rotation task. According to the Twin Testosterone Transfer hypothesis (TTT) this advantage is due to in-uterine transmission of testosterone from males to females. The present study tested the TTT across 14 different spatial ability measures, including mental rotation tasks, in a large sample of 19-21-year-old twins. Males performed significantly better than females on all spatial tasks, with effect sizes ranging from η2 = 0.02 to η2 = 0.16. Females with a male co-twin outperformed females with a female co-twin in two of the tasks. The effect sizes for both differences were negligible (η2 < 0.02). Contrary to the previous studies, our results gave no indication that prenatally transferred testosterone, from a male to a female twin, influences sex differences in spatial ability.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cognition / physiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory, Long-Term / physiology
  • Memory, Short-Term / physiology
  • Pregnancy
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
  • Sex Characteristics*
  • Spatial Navigation / physiology*
  • Testosterone / blood*
  • Twins, Dizygotic / statistics & numerical data*
  • Twins, Monozygotic / statistics & numerical data*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Testosterone