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Sex differences in visuo-spatial processing: An fMRI study of mental rotation

Hugdahl, Kenneth, Thomsen, Tormod, Ersland, Lars·2006·Neuropsychologia

DOI 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.01.026

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Abstract

Following the theoretical framework of coordinate and categorical principals for visuo-spatial processing, originally formulated by [Kosslyn, S. M. (1987). Seeing and imagining in the cerebral hemispheres: AQ computational approach. Psychological Review, 94, 148-175], we present data from an fMRI study on mental rotation, using the classic [Shepard, R. N., & Metzler, J. (1971). Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects. Science, 171, 701-703] task, comparing males and females. Subjects were presented with black-and-white drawings of 3-D shapes taken from the set of 3-D perspective drawings developed by [Shepard, R. N., & Metzler, J. (1971). Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects. Science, 171, 701-703], alternated with 2-D white bars as control stimuli. The drawings were presented pairwise, as black and white drawings against a black circular background. On half of the trials, the two 3-D shapes were congruent but portrayed with different orientation, in the other half the two shapes were incongruent. Analysis of response accuracy and reaction times did not reveal any significant differences between the sexes. However, clusters of significant neuronal activation were found in the superior parietal lobule (BA 7), more intensely over the right hemisphere, and bilaterally in the inferior frontal gyrus (BA 44/45). Males showed predominantly parietal activation, while the females, in addition, showed inferior frontal activation. We suggest that males may be biased towards…

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“Sex differences in the performance of cognitive tasks (i.e. visuospatial and verbal fluency tasks) have been found (Halpern, 2012; Voyer et al., 1995), as well as differences in brain activation patterns during these tasks (Hugdahl et al., 2006).”
Background
Sex Differences and Autism: Brain Function during Verbal Fluency and Mental Rotation
Beacher, F. D. C. C., Radulescu, E., Minati, L., Baron‐Cohen, S., Lombardo, M. V., Lai, M., Walker, A., Howard, D., Gray, M. A., Harrison, N. A., et al. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038355 · Cited by 86
“Previous neuroimaging studies of mental rotation tend to report enhanced right parietal lobule activity in typical men relative to women, while typical women engage more the right inferior frontal gyrus relative to typical men [26,28].”
Background
Reliability and validity of neurobehavioral function on the Psychology Experimental Building Language test battery in young adults
Piper, B., Mueller, S. T., Geerken, A. R., Dixon, K. L., Króliczak, G., Olsen, R. H. J., & Miller, J. K. (2015) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.1460 · Cited by 78
Blocks and bodies: sex differences in a novel version of the Mental Rotations Test.
Alexander, G. M., & Evardone, M. (2008) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.09.014 · Cited by 58
“However, in view of the evidence that males appear more likely than women to employ a holistic strategy in the typical MRT using block figures (Alexander and Son, 2007; Hugdahl et al., 2006), we hypothesized that the effect of human figures on scores would be larger in women compared to men.”
Background
Why Women See Differently from the Way Men See? A Review of Sex Differences in Cognition and Sports
Li, R. (2014) · Journal of Sport and Health Science · doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2014.03.012 · Cited by 73
Cognitive, Emotional, and Psychosocial Functioning of Girls Treated with Pharmacological Puberty Blockage for Idiopathic Central Precocious Puberty
Wojniusz, S., Callens, N., Sütterlin, S., Andersson, S., Schepper, J. D., Gies, I., Vanbesien, J., Waele, K. D., Aken, S. V., Craen, M., et al. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01053 · Cited by 98
“The Mental Rotation Test in which the subject was asked to compare two 3D objects and state if they are the same images (non-mirror or mirror images) was an adapted version of the task used by Hugdahl et al. (2006), originally developed by Shepard and Metzler (1971).”
Method
Developmental sex differences in basic visuospatial processing: Differences in strategy use?
Clements-Stephens, A., Rimrodt, S., & Cutting, L. (2008) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.10.094 · Cited by 67
“Most studies have typically addressed the issue of identifying and understanding the neurobiology of sexbased differences using mental rotation tasks as these tend to produce robust results [2,6-9, 12,15].”
BackgroundResultInfluential
Gender-specific strategy use and neural correlates in a spatial perspective taking task.
Kaiser, S., Walther, S., Nennig, E., Kronmüller, K., Mundt, C., Weisbrod, M., Stippich, C., & Vogeley, K. (2008) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.04.013 · Cited by 67
Sexual dimorphism in schizophrenia: is there a need for gender-based protocols?
Mendrek, A., & Stip, É. (2011) · Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics · doi:10.1586/ern.11.78 · Cited by 61
Preschoolers' Mental Rotation: Sex Differences in Hemispheric Asymmetry
Hahn, N., Jansen, P., & Heil, M. (2009) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn.2009.21236 · Cited by 59
“Hemispheric lateralization of brain activity during mental rotation as a function of sex was reported rather consistently (Hugdahl, Thomsen, & Ersland, 2006 ; Seurinck, Vingerhoets, de Lange, & Achten, 2004 ; Jordan, Wustenberg, Heinze, Peters, & Jancke, 2002 ), with—as a rule—a larger right parietal activity observed…”
Background
Gender difference does not mean genetic difference: Externalizing improves performance in mental rotation
Moè, A. (2011) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.11.001 · Cited by 65
Women and mental rotation: Incremental theory and spatial strategy use enhance performance.
Moè, A., Meneghetti, C., & Cadinu, M. (2009) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2008.09.030 · Cited by 63
Cortical activation during mental rotation in male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals under hormonal treatment.
Carrillo, B., Gomez-Gil, E., Rametti, G., Junqué, C., Gómez, Á., Karádi, K., Segovia, S., & Guillamon, A. (2010) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.02.010 · Cited by 63
“In this sense, there are a substantial number of papers suggesting that testosterone could be responsible for the more accurate male than female performance in spatial abilities such as mental rotation (for review Janowsky, 2006; Zitzmann, 2006).”
Individual Differences in Route-Learning Strategy and Associated Working Memory Resources
Baldwin, C. L., & Reagan, I. J. (2009) · Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · doi:10.1177/0018720809338187 · Cited by 51
The sexual dimorphic association of cardiorespiratory fitness to working memory in children
Drollette, E. S., Scudder, M. R., Raine, L. B., Moore, R. D., Pontifex, M. B., Erickson, K. I., & Hillman, C. H. (2015) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/desc.12291 · Cited by 62
Bilateral parietal activations for complex visual-spatial functions: Evidence from a visual-spatial construction task
Seydell-Greenwald, A., Ferrara, K., Chambers, C. E., Newport, E., & Landau, B. (2017) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.005 · Cited by 58
“…spatial 1 While some studies indicate that lateralization may differ between sexes and at different points in the menstrual cycle (Gur et al., 2000; Hugdahl et al., 2006; Schöning et al., 2007; Zhu et al., 2015), the results are inconsistent across studies and may be due to small sample sizes.”
Spatial ability at two scales of representation: A meta-analysis
Wang, L., Cohen, A. S., & Carr, M. (2014) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2014.10.006 · Cited by 55
Disturbed sexual dimorphism of brain activation during mental rotation in schizophrenia.
Jiménez, J., Mancini-Marı̈e, A., Lakis, N., Rinaldi, M., & Mendrek, A. (2010) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2010.03.011 · Cited by 55
“Subsequent studies have often reported greater activations in the parietal cortex (inferior and superior) in males relative to females, while females showed increased activations in the frontal areas (inferior and lateral) (Hugdahl et al., 2006; Weiss et al., 2003c).”
Background
Functional MR imaging of a simulated balance task
Karim, H., Sparto, P., Aizenstein, H., Furman, J., Huppert, T., Erickson, K., & Loughlin, P. (2014) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2014.01.033 · Cited by 53
“These results indicate that the active balance simulation required greater activation in regions that are involved in visual-vestibular and multisensory integration (Hugdahl et al., 2006; Dieterich and Brandt, 2008).”
Sex differences in the latency of the late event-related potential mental rotation effect
Gootjes, L., Bruggeling, E., Magnée, T., & Strien, J. W. V. (2008) · NeuroReport · doi:10.1097/wnr.0b013e3282f519b3 · Cited by 53
“It has been suggested that different strategies engage specifically in the left or right hemisphere, and that sex differences in hemispheric involvement might be explained by sex differences in strategy [14].”
Background
Estrogenic plants: to prevent neurodegeneration and memory loss and other symptoms in women after menopause
Echeverria, V., Echeverria, F., Barreto, G. E., Echeverría, J., & Mendoza, C. (2021) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.644103 · Cited by 52
Male advantage in sound localization at cocktail parties.
Zündorf, I. C., Karnath, H., & Lewald, J. (2011) · Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2010.08.002 · Cited by 51
“Sex-related differences in event-related potentials were found, that were consistent with existing predictions of female topedown and male bottomeup strategies in spatial processing (Jordan et al., 2002; Hugdahl et al., 2006).”
Cerebral Glucose Metabolism of Parkinson’s Disease Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment
Lyoo, C., Jeong, Y., Ryu, Y., Rinne, J., & Lee, M. (2010) · European Neurology · doi:10.1159/000315036 · Cited by 51
“In healthy individuals, superior parietal and inferior frontal cortices are activated while performing a mental rotation task that needs visuospatial function [”
Background
Girls in detail, boys in shape: gender differences when drawing cubes in depth.
Lange-Küttner, C., & Ebersbach, M. (2013) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12010 · Cited by 50
The Two Halves of the Brain
Long, D. M. (2011) · Neurosurgery Quarterly · doi:10.1097/wnq.0b013e318203ede6 · Cited by 50
Cerebral correlates of analogical processing and their modulation by training
Wartenburger, I., Heekeren, H. R., Preusse, F., Kramer, J., & van der Meer, E. E. (2009) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.06.025 · Cited by 52
A lateralization of function approach to sex differences in spatial ability: a reexamination.
Rilea, S. L. (2008) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2008.01.001 · Cited by 50
Does the use of hormonal contraceptives affect the mental rotation performance?
Griksiene, R., Monciunskaite, R., Arnatkeviciute, A., & Ruksenas, O. (2018) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.03.004 · Cited by 50
“Furthermore, sex and/or sex steroids related differences are evident in the brain activity evaluated by functional magnetic resonance imaging (Hugdahl et al., 2006; Jordan et al., 2002; Schöning et al., 2007; Thomsen et al., 2000; Weiss et al., 2003) and electroencephalography (Desrocher et al.,…”
Method
Cerebral laterality differences in handedness: a mental rotation study with NIRS.
Shimoda, N., Takeda, K., Imai, I., Kaneko, J., & Kato, H. (2008) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2007.10.016 · Cited by 49
Reversal of normal cerebral sexual dimorphism in schizophrenia: Evidence and speculations
Mendrek, A. (2007) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2007.01.064 · Cited by 47
Physical Health
Parton, C., Ussher, J. M., Perz, J., & Rubin, L. R. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108561716.041
Mental rotation: an examination of assumptions
Searle, J. A., & Hamm, J. P. (2017) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science · doi:10.1002/wcs.1443 · Cited by 52
Male-typical visuospatial functioning in gynephilic girls with gender dysphoria — organizational and activational effects of testosterone
Burke, S., Kreukels, B. P. C., Cohen‐Kettenis, P. T., Veltman, D. J., Klink, D. T., & Bakker, J. (2016) · Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience · doi:10.1503/jpn.150147 · Cited by 75
Age and gender differences in spatial perspective taking
Zancada-Menéndez, C., Sampedro-Piquero, P., López, L., & McNamara, T. (2016) · Aging Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1007/s40520-015-0399-z · Cited by 45
“predominantly parietal activation, whereas females show more activation of prefrontal cortex in a mental rotation task with three-dimensional objects [31].”
Background
Investigating Neural Efficiency in the Visuo-Spatial Domain: An fmri Study
Lipp, I., Benedek, M., Fink, A., Koschutnig, K., Reishofer, G., Bergner, S., Ischebeck, A. K., Ebner, F., & Neubauer, A. C. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051316 · Cited by 45
“The interaction between difficulty and intelligence in our study was located in right frontal and right inferior parietal regions, areas that have previously been related to mental rotation processes [17,20,58].”
Background
Rotated alphanumeric characters do not automatically activate frontoparietal areas subserving mental rotation
Weiß, M., Wolbers, T., Peller, M., Witt, K., Marshall, L., Büchel, C., & Siebner, H. R. (2008) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.09.042 · Cited by 43
“Because of gender-specific differences in performance (Linn and Petersen, 1985; Voyer et al., 1995) and cortical activation pattern (Hugdahl et al., 2006; Jordan et al., 2002) with MR, we only studied males to minimize inter-subject variability.”
Background
Gender related differences in visual and auditory processing of verbal and figural tasks
Jaušovec, N., & Jaušovec, K. (2009) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2009.08.093 · Cited by 39
Sex differences in cognition and aging and the influence of sex hormones
Gurvich, C., Thomas, N., & Kulkarni, J. (2020) · Handbook of clinical neurology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-64123-6.00008-4 · Cited by 47
The Relationship Between Systemising and Mental Rotation and the Implications for the Extreme Male Brain Theory of Autism
Brosnan, M., Daggar, R., & Collomosse, J. (2010) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0815-3 · Cited by 44
Modulation of brain oscillations during fundamental visuo-spatial processing: A comparison between female collegiate badminton players and sedentary controls
Wang, C., Tsai, C., Tu, K.-C., Muggleton, N. G., Juan, C.-H., & Liang, W. (2014) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.003 · Cited by 48
Hemispheric asymmetry: contributions from brain imaging
Hugdahl, K. (2010) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science · doi:10.1002/wcs.122 · Cited by 59
Self-citation
Childhood preference for spatial toys. Gender differences and relationships with mental rotation in STEM and non-STEM students
Moè, A., Jansen, P., & Pietsch, S. (2018) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2018.10.003 · Cited by 48
Steroid Hormones, Receptors, and Perceptual and Cognitive Sex Differences in the Visual System
Handa, R. J., & McGivern, R. F. (2014) · Current Eye Research · doi:10.3109/02713683.2014.952826 · Cited by 44
Stronger activation and deactivation in archery experts for differential cognitive strategy in visuospatial working memory processing
Seo, J., Kim, Y., Song, H., Lee, H. J., Lee, J., Jung, T., Lee, G., Kwon, E., Kim, J. G., & Chang, Y. (2012) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2012.01.019 · Cited by 39
Use of Three-Dimensional Printing Models for Veterinary Medical Education: Impact on Learning How to Identify Canine Vertebral Fractures.
Suñol, A., Aige, V., Morales, C., López-Beltran, M., Feliu-Pascual, A. L., & Puig, J. (2018) · Journal of Veterinary Medical Education · doi:10.3138/jvme.0817-109r · Cited by 41
Sex differences in mental rotation and cortical activation patterns: Can training change them?
Jaušovec, N., & Jaušovec, K. (2012) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2012.01.005 · Cited by 40
“It has been observed that, while solving mental rotation tasks, males showed predominantly parietal activation, whereas females also showed frontal brain activity (Butler et al., 2006; Hugdahl et al., 2006).”
Background
Common and Distinctive Patterns of Cognitive Dysfunction in Children With Benign Epilepsy Syndromes.
Cheng, D., Yan, X.-X., Gao, Z., Xu, K.-M., Zhou, X.-L., & Chen, Q. (2017) · Pediatric Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2016.12.005 · Cited by 39
Sex Differences in the Neural Correlates of Specific and General Autobiographical Memory
Compère, L., Sperduti, M., Gallarda, T., Anssens, A., Lion, S., Delhommeau, M., Martinelli, P., Devauchelle, A.-D., Oppenheim, C., & Piolino, P. (2016) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00285 · Cited by 39
“…that sexrelated differences may depend on the use of different cognitive strategies (i.e., allocentric or gestalt or coordinate strategies for men, and egocentric or serial or categorical ones for women in visuospatial tasks; Sharps et al., 1993; Jordan et al., 2002; Hugdahl et al., 2006).”
Background
Effects of gender, imagery ability, and sports practice on the performance of a mental rotation task.
Habacha, H., Molinaro, C., & Dosseville, F. (2014) · American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.5406/amerjpsyc.127.3.0313 · Cited by 39

Authors: Hugdahl, K., Thomsen, T., & Ersland, L.
Affiliations: Haukeland University Hospital (NO)
Corresponding author: Hugdahl, Kenneth
ORCID: Hugdahl, Kenneth
Venue: Neuropsychologia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2006-01
Volume: 44
Issue: 9
Pages: 1575-1583
ISSN: 0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.01.026
OpenAlex: W1978753300
Cited by: 368
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 6 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 73 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 23
FWCI: 48.25
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Spatial Neglect and Hemispheric Dysfunction
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
Keywords: sex differences, mental rotation, visuospatial processing, superior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, hemispheric lateralization, brain activation
MeSH terms: Adult, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Imagination, Functional Laterality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxygen, Photic Stimulation, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Sex Characteristics, Space Perception, Visual Perception

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Sex differences in visuo-spatial processing: An fMRI study of mental rotation

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