Effects of fetal testosterone on visuospatial ability
Bonnie Auyeung1, Rebecca Knickmeyer, Emma Ashwin
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18B Trumpington Rd., Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK. ba251@cam.ac.uk
Archives of Sexual Behavior
|October 29, 2011
Summary
Fetal testosterone (FT) influences visuospatial skills like attention to detail in children. While FT predicted performance on detail tasks, it did not significantly impact hand-eye coordination or mental rotation abilities.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroendocrinology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Prenatal hormone exposure, specifically fetal testosterone (FT), is hypothesized to influence sex-specific cognitive development.
- Visuospatial ability encompasses various skills, including attention to detail, hand-eye coordination, and mental rotation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between second-trimester fetal testosterone levels and specific visuospatial abilities in children aged 7-10 years.
- To investigate potential sex differences in these relationships.
Main Methods:
- Measurement of fetal testosterone (FT) from second-trimester amniotic fluid.
- Assessment of visuospatial abilities using the children's Embedded Figures Test (EFT), a ball targeting task, and a computerized mental rotation task.
- Statistical analysis to determine the predictive value of FT on visuospatial task performance, considering sex and age.
Main Results:
- Fetal testosterone was a significant predictor of performance on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) for both boys and girls.
- Boys demonstrated a significant advantage on the EFT task.
- No significant sex differences were found in the ball targeting task; however, boys generally scored higher on mental rotation.
- No significant relationships were observed between fetal testosterone levels and performance on the ball targeting or mental rotation tasks.
- Girls' performance on mental rotation and targeting tasks correlated significantly with age, suggesting potential task difficulty for younger participants.
Conclusions:
- Fetal testosterone plays a significant role in specific aspects of cognitive development, particularly attention to detail as measured by the EFT.
- Further research is necessary to fully elucidate the complex effects of fetal testosterone on the diverse components of visuospatial ability.
- The findings suggest that while prenatal testosterone influences certain visuospatial skills, other factors like age may be more critical for tasks like mental rotation and targeting in this age group.
