Pubertal testosterone predicts mental rotation performance of young adult males
Open accessAbstract
Robust sex differences in some spatial abilities that favor males have raised the question of whether testosterone contributes to those differences. There is some evidence for prenatal organizational effects of testosterone on male-favoring spatial abilities, but not much is known about the role of pubertal testosterone levels on adult cognitive abilities. We studied the association between pubertal testosterone (at age 14) and cognitive performance in young adulthood (at age 21-23), assessing male-favoring, female-favoring, and sex-neutral cognitive domains in a population-based sample of 130 male and 178 female twins. Pubertal testosterone was negatively associated with performance in the Mental Rotation Test in young adult men (r=-.27), while among women no significant associations between testosterone and cognitive measures were detected. The significant association among men remained after controlling for pubertal development. Confirmatory within-family comparisons with one-sided significance testing yielded a negative correlation between twin pair differences in testosterone levels and Mental Rotation Test performances in 35 male twin pairs (r=-.32): the twin brother with higher testosterone performed less well on the Mental Rotation Test. That association was evident in 18 pairs of dizygotic male twin pairs (r=-.42; analysis controlling for shared environmental effects). In contrast, the association of differences was not evident among 17 monozygotic male twin pairs (r=-.07; analysis controlling for shared genetic influences). Results suggest that pubertal testosterone levels are related specifically to male-favoring spatial ability and only among men. Within-family analyses implicated possible shared genetic effects between pubertal testosterone and mental rotation ability.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Pubescent testosterone levels may partially explain group differences in spatial performance.
“which may partially explain group differences (Vuoksimaa et al., 2012).”
From Factors Related to Mean Score Group Differences on Cognitive Ability Tests: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Vuoksimaa et al., 2012
The Introduction says testosterone has been suggested to play a role in sex differences in spatial ability. The Discussion reports that pubertal testosterone predicted later mental-rotation performance only among men; it does not show that pubertal testosterone explains differences between groups. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA longitudinal study found pubescent testosterone levels were related to adult spatial performance in men.
“Lastly, a longitudinal study found pubescent testosterone levels were related to adult spatial performance in men”
From Factors Related to Mean Score Group Differences on Cognitive Ability Tests: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Vuoksimaa et al., 2012
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The Adapted mind : evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture
Barkow, J. H., Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1992) · Cited by 5,222 · see citing works
A self‐report measure of pubertal status: Reliability, validity and initial norms
Petersen, A. C., Crockett, L., Richards, M., & Boxer, A. (1988) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/bf01537962 · Cited by 3,129 · see citing works
Voyer, D., Voyer, S., & Bryden, M. P. (1995) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.117.2.250 · Cited by 2,868 · cited 1× · see citing works
“One such domain is mental rotation ability; the widely used Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotation Test (Vandenberg and Kuse, 1978) yields a large and robust sex difference with male mean scores about one full standard deviation higher than those of females (Voyer et al., 1995).”
MethodMental Rotations, a Group Test of Three-Dimensional Spatial Visualization
Vandenberg, S. G., & Kuse, A. R. (1978) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1978.47.2.599 · Cited by 2,620 · cited 2× · see citing works
“One such domain is mental rotation ability; the widely used Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotation Test (Vandenberg and Kuse, 1978) yields a large and robust sex difference with male mean scores about one full standard deviation higher than those of females (Voyer et al.”
MethodA Note on Robust Variance Estimation for Cluster‐Correlated Data
Williams, R. L. (2000) · Biometrics · doi:10.1111/j.0006-341x.2000.00645.x · Cited by 2,501 · cited 1× · see citing works
“(Williams, 2000).”
Pubertal hormones organize the adolescent brain and behavior
Sisk, C. L., & Zehr, J. L. (2005) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2005.10.003 · Cited by 1,082 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Sex hormones may have organizational effects on the developing human brain during pubertal development (for reviews, see Sisk and Zehr, 2005; Hines, 2011; Peper et al., 2011), and animal studies have suggested that it might be the last developmental stage in which brain organization is sensitive to…”
BackgroundPeters, M., Laeng, B., Latham, K., Jackson, M., Zaiyouna, R., & Richardson, C. (1995) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1006/brcg.1995.1032 · Cited by 1,060 · see citing works
Reframing sexual differentiation of the brain
McCarthy, M. M., & Arnold, A. P. (2011) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2834 · Cited by 728 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The actions of testosterone on brain are usually considered to be either organizational or activational in nature (see e.g. McCarthy and Arnold, 2011).”
BackgroundCausal Inference and Observational Research: The Utility of Twins
McGue, M., Osler, M., & Christensen, K. (2010) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691610383511 · Cited by 529 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Regarding the within pair differences in testosterone and MRT performance, we observed the negative correlation only among dizygotic twin pairs, but not in monozygotic twin pairs, which suggests possible shared genetics effects between these two phenotypes (McGue et al., 2010).”
BackgroundValidity of self-report measures of girls' pubertal status
Brooks-Gunn, J., Warren, M. P., Rosso, J., & Gargiulo, J. (1987) · Child Development · doi:10.2307/1130220 · Cited by 513 · see citing works
Sex Differences in Spatial Abilities: Evolutionary Theory and Data
SILVERMAN, I. W., & Eals, M. (1992) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780195060232.003.0015 · Cited by 510 · see citing works
Testosterone supplementation improves spatial and verbal memory in healthy older men
Cherrier, M. M., Asthana, S., Plymate, S. R., Baker, L. D., Matsumoto, A. M., Peskind, E. R., Raskind, M. A., Brodkin, K. I., Bremner, W., Petrova, A., et al. (2001) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.57.1.80 · Cited by 450 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For example, improving effects of testosterone supplementation on spatial memory have been reported both among healthy men (Cherrier et al., 2001) and men with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (Cherrier et al., 2005).”
BackgroundSex hormones affect spatial abilities during the menstrual cycle.
Hausmann, M., Slabbekoorn, D., van Goozen, S. H. M., Cohen‐Kettenis, P. T., & Güntürkün, O. (2000) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037//0735-7044.114.6.1245 · Cited by 423 · see citing works
The relationship between testosterone levels and cognitive ability patterns
GOUCHIE, C., & Kimura, D. (1991) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/0306-4530(91)90018-o · Cited by 423 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Some studies have indicated a positive correlation between testosterone and male favoring spatial abilities in females, but a negative correlation among males, which raise the question of whether optimal levels of testosterone are requisite for good spatial abilities (Shute et al., 1983; Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Moff…”
BackgroundGender development and the human brain
Hines, M. (2011) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev-neuro-061010-113654 · Cited by 378 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Sex hormones may have organizational effects on the developing human brain during pubertal development (for reviews, see Sisk and Zehr, 2005; Hines, 2011; Peper et al., 2011), and animal studies have suggested that it might be the last developmental stage in which brain organization is sensitive to sex hormones (Schul…”
BackgroundSex Differences in Cognition: A Function of Maturation Rate?
Waber, D. P. (1976) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1257795 · Cited by 364 · see citing works
Spatial Ability in Androgen-Deficient Men
Hier, D. B., & Crowley, W. F. (1982) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm198205203062003 · Cited by 355 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Compared to controls, 19 men with IHH had impaired spatial abilities (Hier and Crowley, 1982).”
BackgroundMoffat, S. D., & Hampson, E. (1996) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/0306-4530(95)00051-8 · Cited by 317 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Some studies have indicated a positive correlation between testosterone and male favoring spatial abilities in females, but a negative correlation among males, which raise the question of whether optimal levels of testosterone are requisite for good spatial abilities (Shute et al., 1983; Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Moff…”
BackgroundResultWaber, D. P. (1977) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.13.1.29 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Kaprio, J. A., Pulkkinen, L., & Rose, R. J. (2002) · Twin Research · doi:10.1375/136905202320906101 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Self-citationSex steroids and brain structure in pubertal boys and girls
Peper, J. S., Brouwer, R. M., Schnack, H. G., van Baal, G. C. M., van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S. M., de Waal, H. A. D., Boomsma, D. I., Kahn, R. S., & Pol, H. E. H. (2008) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.09.012 · Cited by 282 · see citing works
Testosterone improves spatial memory in men with Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment
Cherrier, M. M., Matsumoto, A. M., Amory, J. K., Asthana, S., Bremner, W., Peskind, E. R., Raskind, M. A., & Craft, S. (2005) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000165995.98986.f1 · Cited by 280 · cited 2× · see citing works
“For example, improving effects of testosterone supplementation on spatial memory have been reported both among healthy men (Cherrier et al., 2001) and men with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (Cherrier et al., 2005).”
BackgroundPuts, D. A., McDaniel, M. A., Jordan, C. L., & Breedlove, S. M. (2007) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-007-9271-3 · Cited by 240 · cited 4× · see citing works
“However, a large scale internet study of >200,000 participants (also included in the meta-analysis of Puts et al., 2008) found that low 2d:4d ratio (as a proxy for higher prenatal testosterone levels) was associated with better mental rotation performance both in females and males (Peters et al.,…”
BackgroundInfluentialValidity of self-report measures of girls' pubertal status.
Jeanne Brooks-gunn, B., Warren, M. P., Rosso, J., & Gargiulo, J. (1987) · PubMed · Cited by 238 · see citing works
Sex steroids and brain structure in pubertal boys and girls: a mini-review of neuroimaging studies
Peper, J. S., Pol, H. E. H., Crone, E. A., & van Honk, J. (2011) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.02.014 · Cited by 204 · cited 1× · see citing works
“…may have organizational effects on the developing human brain during pubertal development (for reviews, see Sisk and Zehr, 2005; Hines, 2011; Peper et al., 2011), and animal studies have suggested that it might be the last developmental stage in which brain organization is sensitive to sex…”
BackgroundThilers, P., MacDonald, S., & Herlitz, A. (2006) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.12.005 · Cited by 184 · cited 2× · see citing works
“, 2006; n = 450) and positive (Thilers et al., 2006; n = 1107) associations between testosterone and visuo-spatial abilities.”
BackgroundResultTestosterone and cognitive function: current clinical evidence of a relationship.
Beauchet, O. (2006) · European Journal of Endocrinology · doi:10.1530/eje.1.02306 · Cited by 177 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Among elderly, testosterone substitution can enhance the performance in the domain of spatial abilities (see e.g. Beauchet, 2006).”
BackgroundThe relationship of male testosterone to components of mental rotation.
Hooven, C. K., Chabris, C., Ellison, P., & Kosslyn, S. (2004) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2003.11.012 · Cited by 168 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Nevertheless, other studies have reported a positive correlation between male favoring mental rotation ability and testosterone levels among males, as well (e.g. Silverman et al., 1999; Hooven et al., 2004).”
BackgroundSlabbekoorn, D., van Goozen, S. H. M., Megens, J. A. J., Gooren, L. J., & Cohen‐Kettenis, P. T. (1999) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(98)00091-2 · Cited by 165 · cited 2× · see citing works
“, 2002) and activational (Slabbekoorn et al., 1999) effects of testosterone on spatial abilities.”
BackgroundThe relationship between androgen levels and human spatial abilities
Shute, V. J., Pellegrino, J. W., Hubert, L., & Reynolds, R. W. (1983) · Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society · doi:10.3758/bf03330010 · Cited by 164 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Some studies have indicated a positive correlation between testosterone and male favoring spatial abilities in females, but a negative correlation among males, which raise the question of whether optimal levels of testosterone are requisite for good spatial abilities (Shute et al., 1983; Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Moff…”
BackgroundTestosterone levels and spatial ability in men
Silverman, I., Kastuk, D., Choi, J., & Phillips, K. (1999) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(99)00031-1 · Cited by 159 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Nevertheless, other studies have reported a positive correlation between male favoring mental rotation ability and testosterone levels among males, as well (e.g. Silverman et al., 1999; Hooven et al., 2004).”
BackgroundThe Effects of Sex, Sexual Orientation, and Digit Ratio (2D:4D) on Mental Rotation Performance
Peters, M., Manning, J. T., & Reimers, S. J. (2007) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9166-8 · Cited by 158 · cited 2× · see citing works
“…a large scale internet study of >200,000 participants (also included in the meta-analysis of Puts et al., 2008) found that low 2d:4d ratio (as a proxy for higher prenatal testosterone levels) was associated with better mental rotation performance both in females and males (Peters et al., 2007).”
BackgroundHeritability of plasma sex hormones and hormone binding globulin in adult male twins
Ring, H. Z., Lessov, C. N., Reed, T., Marcus, R., Holloway, L., Swan, G. E., & Carmelli, D. (2005) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jc.2004-1025 · Cited by 117 · cited 2× · see citing works
“As testosterone levels are highly heritable throughout life (Eriksson et al., 2005; Ring et al., 2005; Hoekstra et al., 2006; Kuijper et al., 2007), it is difficult to discriminate whether the testosterone levels measured in one time point reflect temporary activational or permanent organizational effects of testoster…”
BackgroundTestosterone Programs Adult Social Behavior before and during, But Not after, Adolescence
Schulz, K. M., Zehr, J. L., Salas-Ramirez, K. Y., & Sisk, C. L. (2009) · Endocrinology · doi:10.1210/en.2008-1708 · Cited by 105 · cited 2× · see citing works
“, 2011), and animal studies have suggested that it might be the last developmental stage in which brain organization is sensitive to sex hormones (Schulz et al., 2009).”
BackgroundMeasuring Puberty and Understanding Its Impact: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Twins
Dick, D. M., Rose, R. J., Pulkkinen, L., & Kaprio, J. A. (2001) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1023/a:1010471015102 · Cited by 90 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The means for all items of PDS in FinnTwin12 have been reported to be slightly lower than in the American samples (Dick et al., 2001), but the reliability was adequate both for boys (alpha .”
ResultSelf-citationSalivary testosterone does not predict mental rotation performance in men or women
Puts, D. A., Cárdenas, R. A., Bailey, D. H., Burriss, R. P., Jordan, C. L., & Breedlove, S. M. (2010) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.03.005 · Cited by 89 · cited 4× · see citing works
“Puts et al. (2010) have suggested that if there are effects of testosterone on spatial abilities, the timing of these effects must stem from the organizational effects that occur during perinatal or pubertal development when testosterone levels are highest before adulthood.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialOrganizing and activating effects of sex hormones in homosexual transsexuals.
Goozen, S. H. M. V., Slabbekoorn, D., Gooren, L. J., Sanders, G., & Cohen‐Kettenis, P. T. (2002) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.116.6.982 · Cited by 88 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Studies on transsexuals have yielded support to both organizational (van Goozen et al., 2002) and activational (Slabbekoorn et al., 1999) effects of testosterone on spatial abilities.”
BackgroundMental rotation in female fraternal twins: Evidence for intra-uterine hormone transfer?
Heil, M., Kavšek, M., Rolke, B., Beste, C., & Jansen, P. (2010) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.11.002 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Having a Male Co-Twin Masculinizes Mental Rotation Performance in Females
Vuoksimaa, E., Kaprio, J., Kremen, W. S., Hokkanen, L., Viken, R. J., Tuulio-Henriksson, A., & Rose, R. J. (2010) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797610376075 · Cited by 80 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Possible prenatal effects of testosterone among women are suggested also by twin studies that have reported a significantly better mental rotation performance in women with a twin brother compared to women with a twin sister (Vuoksimaa et al., 2010) or non twin women with slightly older brother (Heil et al.”
BackgroundSelf-citationLiben, L. S., Susman, E. J., Finkelstein, J. W., Chinchilli, V. M., Kunselman, S. J., Schwab, J., Dubas, J. S., Demers, L. M., Lookingbill, G., D’Arcangelo, M. R., et al. (2002) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037//0012-1649.38.2.236 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Hiort, O. (2002) · Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1053/beem.2002.0178 · Cited by 74 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Beyond prenatal developmental effects, testosterone may have long lasting effects on cognitive functioning during pubertal development, a time when there is a substantial peak in testosterone production, especially among boys (Hiort, 2002).”
BackgroundSex differences in cognition among persons with schizophrenia and healthy first-degree relatives
Torniainen‐Holm, M., Suvisaari, J., Partonen, T., Castaneda, A. E., Kuha, A., Perälä, J., Saarni, S. I., Lönnqvist, J. K., & Tuulio‐Henriksson, A. (2010) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2010.11.009 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Cognitive functioning in substance abuse and dependence: a population‐based study of young adults
Latvala, A., Castaneda, A. E., Perälä, J., Saarni, S. I., Aalto‐Setälä, T., Lönnqvist, J. K., Kaprio, J. A., Suvisaari, J., & Tuulio‐Henriksson, A. (2009) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02656.x · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Self-citationHeritability of reproductive hormones in adult male twins
Kuijper, E. A. M., Lambalk, C. B., Boomsma, D. I., van der Sluis, S., Blankenstein, M. A., de Geus, E. J. C., & Danielle Posthuma, B. (2007) · Human Reproduction · doi:10.1093/humrep/dem145 · Cited by 64 · cited 2× · see citing works
“As testosterone levels are highly heritable throughout life (Eriksson et al., 2005; Ring et al., 2005; Hoekstra et al., 2006; Kuijper et al., 2007), it is difficult to discriminate whether the testosterone levels measured in one time point reflect temporary activational or permanent organizational effects of testoster…”
BackgroundTesting Between-Family Associations in Within-Family Comparisons
Dick, D. M., Johnson, J. K., Viken, R. J., & Rose, R. J. (2000) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00279 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationHeritability of testosterone levels in 12-year-old twins and its relation to pubertal development
Hoekstra, R. A., Bartels, M., & Boomsma, D. I. (2006) · Twin Research and Human Genetics · doi:10.1375/twin.9.4.558 · Cited by 61 · cited 3× · see citing works
“On the other hand, this might also reflect the fact that there is a strong genetic correlation between pubertal development and pubertal testosterone levels (Hoekstra et al., 2006).”
BackgroundNegative association of testosterone on spatial visualization in 35 to 80 year old men.
Yonker, J., Eriksson, E., Nilsson, L., & Herlitz, A. (2006) · Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(08)70364-2 · Cited by 60 · cited 1× · see citing works
“However, contradictory results have emerged among non-clinical samples of adult men over 35 years of age: two large-scale studies have indicated both negative (Yonker et al., 2006; n = 450) and positive (Thilers et al., 2006; n = 1107) associations between testosterone and visuo-spatial abilities.”
ResultEffect of age at puberty on spatial ability in girls: A question of mechanism.
Newcombe, N. S., & Bandura, M. M. (1983) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037//0012-1649.19.2.215 · Cited by 58 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Given that assumption, our results can be interpreted as supporting earlier studies that have demonstrated the correlation between late pubertal maturation and good spatial abilities (e.g. Waber, 1976, 1977; Newcombe and Bandura, 1983).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialAre hormone levels and cognitive ability related during early adolescence?
Davison, K. K., & Susman, E. J. (2001) · International Journal of Behavioral Development · doi:10.1080/016502501316934842 · Cited by 53 · cited 3× · see citing works
“One study of 9—14 year boys and girls, representing individuals from all pubertal development stages, measured testosterone levels from blood samples taken in three time points with six month intervals (Davison and Susman, 2001).”
BackgroundInfluentialTestosterone, Estradiol, Acth and Musical, Spatial and Verbal Performance
Hassler, M., Gupta, D., & Wollmann, H. A. (1992) · International Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.3109/00207459209003277 · Cited by 48 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Another longitudinal study of adolescents tested the association between testosterone levels and spatial abilities, but found no consistent evidence for any pattern of relationship (Hassler, 1991; Hassler et al., 1992).”
BackgroundEriksson, C. J. P., Kaprio, J. A., Pulkkinen, L., & Rose, R. J. (2005) · Behavior Genetics · doi:10.1007/s10519-005-3228-x · Cited by 37 · cited 3× · see citing works
“See Eriksson et al. (2005) for details in the saliva sample collection and determination of testosterone levels.”
BackgroundSelf-citationMaturation rate and spatial, verbal, and musical abilities: A seven-year-longitudinal study
Hassler, M. (1991) · International Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.3109/00207459108985434 · Cited by 28 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Another longitudinal study of adolescents tested the association between testosterone levels and spatial abilities, but found no consistent evidence for any pattern of relationship (Hassler, 1991; Hassler et al., 1992).”
BackgroundDoes Age of Menarche Affect the Ultimate Level of Verbal and Spatial Skills?
Strauss, E., & Kinsbourne, M. (1981) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(81)80053-6 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Associations of Timing of Puberty, Spatial Ability, and Lateralization in Adult Women
Newcombe, N. S., Dubas, J. S., & Baenninger, M. (1989) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1989.tb02713.x · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Behavioral correlates of physical and neuromotor maturity in adolescents from different environments
Waber, D. P., Bauermeister, M., Cohen, C., Ferber, R. A., & Wolff, P. H. (1981) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.420140604 · Cited by 16 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Cerebral organization of the brain (Waber, 1976) and psychosocial factors, including participation in spatial activities (Newcombe and Bandura, 1983), and socioeconomic background (Waber et al., 1981) have been suggested to explain the association between rate of maturation and spatial abilities during puberty.”
Background
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Wechsler D The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Third Edition (WAIS-III) administration and scoring manual 1997 San Antonio, TX The Psychological Corporation
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Sex differences in cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease
Li, R., & Singh, M. (2014) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2014.01.002 · Cited by 527 · see citing works
The new science of cognitive sex differences
Miller, D. I., & Halpern, D. F. (2014) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2013.10.011 · Cited by 610 · see citing works
Pubertal onset as a critical transition for neural development and cognition
Juraska, J. M., & Willing, J. (2016) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2016.04.012 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
“A rise in pubertal testosterone in males has been found to be associated with an increase in mental rotation performance (Vuoksima et al., 2012), which also relies on PFC activity.”
On the effects of testosterone on brain behavioral functions
Celec, P., Ostatníková, D., & Hodosy, J. (2015) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2015.00012 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Psychological effects of androgen‐deprivation therapy on men with prostate cancer and their partners
Donovan, K. A., Walker, L. M., Wassersug, R. J., Thompson, L. M. A., & Robinson, J. W. (2015) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.29672 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Sex hormones and mental rotation: an intensive longitudinal investigation.
Courvoisier, D., Renaud, O., Geiser, C., Paschke, K., Gaudy, K., & Jordan, K. (2013) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.12.007 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
“…higher the performance; e.g., Hausmann et al., 2009, 2000), 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 et al., 2012).”
BackgroundWhy 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 · see citing works
Wang, P., Tuvblad, C., Younan, D., Franklin, M., Lurmann, F. W., Wu, J. Y., Baker, L. A., & Chen, J. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0188731 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Pletzer, B., Petasis, O., & Cahill, L. (2014) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.05.004 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“Particularly, testosterone relates positively to performance in mental rotation (e.g. Hooven et al., 2004; Levine et al., 2001; Silverman et al., 1999; Vuoksimaa et al., 2012) (but see Puts et al., 2010) and spatial navigation tasks (Burkitt et al., 2007; Saucier et al., 2002a).”
BackgroundRovio, S., Pahkala, K., Nevalainen, J., Juonala, M., Salo, P., Kähönen, M. A. P., Hutri‐Kähönen, N., Lehtimäki, T. J., Jokinen, E. V., Laitinen, T. P., et al. (2015) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/neu0000239 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Testosterone and the brain: from cognition to autism.
Ostatníková, D., Lakatošová, S., Babková, J., Hodosy, J., & Celec, P. (2021) · Physiological Research · doi:10.33549/10.33549/physiolres.934592 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Regulation of cognitive function by androgens and estrogens
Hampson, E. (2018) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.03.002 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Durdiaková, J., Lakatošová, S., Kubranská, A., Laznibatová, J., Ficek, A., Ostatníková, D., & Celec, P. (2013) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.05.016 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Exploring the sex and gender correlates of cognitive sex differences.
Kheloui, S., Brouillard, A., Rossi, M., Marin, M.-F., Mendrek, A., Paquette, D., & Juster, R. (2021) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103452 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Sex Hormones as Cognitive Enhancers?
Núñez, F., Maraver, M. J., & Colzato, L. S. (2019) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-019-00156-1 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Sex Differences in Brain and Behavioral Development
Beltz, A. M., Blakemore, J. E., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2013) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-397267-5.00064-9 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Kim, G., Joo, Y. Y., Ahn, G., Wang, H., Moon, S., Kim, H., Ahn, W., & Cha, J. (2022) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.25888 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Sex differences in brain and behavioral development
Beltz, A. M., Kelly, D. P., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-814411-4.00027-5 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Quaiser-Pohl, C., Jansen, P., Lehmann, J., & Kudielka, B. (2016) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.21333 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Shirazi, T. N., Self, H., Cantor, J., Dawood, K., Cárdenas, R., Rosenfield, K. A., Ortiz, T. L., Carré, J., McDaniel, M. A., Blanchard, R., et al. (2020) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104712 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The interaction of genetic sex and prenatal alcohol exposure on health across the lifespan
Bake, S., Rouzer, S. K., Mavuri, S., Miranda, R. C., & Mahnke, A. H. (2023) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101103 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“…in endocrine function, such as elevated testosterone in adolescent males and females with PAE, may impact cognitive performance (Carter et al., 2014), as pubertal testosterone levels have been negatively associated with spatial reasoning performance in young adult males (Vuoksimaa et al., 2012).”
Shirazi, T. N., Self, H., Dawood, K., Cárdenas, R. A., Welling, L. L. M., Rosenfield, K. A., Ortiz, T. L., Carré, J. M., Balasubramanian, R., Delaney, A., et al. (2020) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104733 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Latvala, A., Rose, R. J., Pulkkinen, L., Dick, D. M., & Kaprio, J. A. (2013) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/acer.12254 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationAdolescent development and the math gender gap
Borra, C., Iacovou, M., & Sevilla, A. (2023) · European Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2023.104542 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Testosterone, gender identity and gender-stereotyped personality attributes.
Casto, K., Cohen, D., Akinola, M., & Mehta, P. H. (2024) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105540 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“…on sex differences in spatial cognition, for example, has tested both early exposure and adulthood levels of testosterone as a mediator and found mixed results (Alarc ´ on et al., 2014; Erdmann et al., 2019; Falter et al., 2006; Puts et al., 2010; Toivainen et al., 2018; Vuoksimaa et al., 2012).”
ResultKubranská, A., Lakatošová, S., Schmidtová, E., Durdiaková, J., Celec, P., & Ostatníková, D. (2014) · General Physiology and Biophysics · doi:10.4149/gpb_2014005 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Androgen receptor polymorphism, mental rotation, and spatial visualization in men.
Sankar, J., & Hampson, E. (2021) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105239 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Eye-movements during number comparison: Associations to sex and sex hormones
Schulte, L., Hawelka, S., & Pletzer, B. (2020) · Physiology and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113161 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“, 2007), while in men even negative associations have been observed (Gouchie & Kimura, 1991; Yonker et al., 2006; Martin et al., 2008; Vuoksimaa et al., 2012).”
BackgroundSex differences in cognitive performance persist into your 80s
Julian, R., Fröhlich, S. M., Müller, K., Dammhahn, M., & Voelcker‐Rehage, C. (2025) · GeroScience · doi:10.1007/s11357-025-01585-x · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Evidence suggests that prenatal androgens influence spatial performance in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia [52] and serve as predictors of spatial cognition in males [53].”
Psychoneuroendocrine protocol to comprehensively study sexually dimorphic cognition
Kheloui, S., Rossi, M., Jacmin-Park, S., Larocque, O., Vallée, M., Kerr, P., Bourdon, O., & Juster, R. (2021) · Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100050 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Moreover, it appears that pubertal testosterone surges were negatively associated with mental rotation performance later on for young adult males [118].”
BackgroundPerception: A dynamic interplay between genetics and neuroplasticity
Proverbio, A. M. (2022) · Frontiers in Cognition · doi:10.3389/fcogn.2022.1004576 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Sex and Gender Differences in Pain and Mental Health
Mendrek, A., Marchand, S., & Gaumond, I. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-2-8178-0414-9_5 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Gender Differences in Cognitive Abilities in Human Adults
Nanova, P., Kolev, V., & Yordanova, J. (2024) · Proceedings of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences · doi:10.7546/crabs.2024.05.01 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Spatial processing is suggested to be enhanced in the presence of medium levels of androgens [67,83–85], although disconfirming results also exist [48,83,84,86–91].”
BackgroundCooke, M. E., Stephenson, M. E., Brislin, S. J., Latvala, A., Barr, P. B., Piirtola, M., Vuoksimaa, E., Rose, R. J., Kaprio, J. A., Dick, D. M., et al. (2024) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.16629 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Further information about each task is reported in the Supplemental Methods and in Vuoksimaa et al. [42] We note that the object location memory task was added to the cognitive battery midway through data collection and is, therefore, only available on a subset of the sample ( n = 339).”
MethodSelf-citationHampson, E. (2025) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105800 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…endocrine contexts (e.g., Hampson and Rovet, 2015; Heil et al., 2011; Moffat and Hampson, 1996; Shirazi et al., 2020; Slabbekoorn et al., 1999; Vuoksimaa et al., 2012), we expected to find better performance on visuospatial tests and possibly reduced verbal fluency among former users of…”
Adolescence Development and the Math Gender GapPreprint
Borra, C., Iacovou, M., & Sevilla, A. (2022) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4122090 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The effect of sex hormones on brain development and functioning
Russell, D. H., & Coghill, D. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-818872-9.00117-5 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Factors Related to Mean Score Group Differences on Cognitive Ability Tests: A Systematic Review
Cuppello, S., Zibarras, L. D., & Corr, P. J. (2025) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-025-00504-5
Assessing Pubertal Timing and Dynamics in a Large Longitudinal Sample of Adolescent Males
Khairullah, A. (2013) · TSpace (University of Toronto)
Juraska, J. M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190645908.003.0014
Gene × sex interactions on cognition in the Philadelphia neurodevelopmental cohort
Mollon, J., Knowles, E. E. M., Mathias, S. R., Rodrigue, A., Gur, R. C., Peralta, J. M., Weiner, D. J., Robinson, E., Raznahan, A., Gur, R. E., et al. (2026) · Biology of Sex Differences · doi:10.1186/s13293-026-00929-2
“Moreover, genetic factors may become more expressed in males due to maturational and/or hormonal factors, such as testosterone-driven amplification of genetic factors during puberty [67, 68].”
Treatment for Gender Transition & Parental Obligations
Smith, E., & Rusavuk, A. L. (2026) · Journal of Controversial Ideas · doi:10.63466/jci06010008
- Authors
- Vuoksimaa, E., Kaprio, J., Eriksson, C. J. P., & Rose, R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Vuoksimaa, Eero
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-11
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1791-1800
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3670426
- OpenAlex
- W2134635976
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- STM:n Hallinnonalan avoin julkaisuarkisto (Julkari) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K05AA000145, R01AA012502, R01AA009203, R37AA012502)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- mental rotation, spatial ability, sex differences, young men, twin studies, dizygotic twins, monozygotic twins, genetic factors, shared environment, cognitive performance, pubertal development
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Depth Perception, Female, Humans, Intelligence Tests, Male, Puberty, Rotation, Sex Factors, Testosterone, Twins, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
