Testosterone levels and spatial ability in men
Abstract
Testosterone (T) levels were measured by salivary assays in 59 males at times of the day when T was expected to be highest and lowest. Relationships were evaluated for mean hormone levels across the two sessions and hormone level changes between sessions with performance on three-dimensional mental rotations, a spatial test which customarily favours males. An anagrams task and the digit symbol test were used as controls. Mental rotations scores showed a significant positive relationship with mean T levels but not with changes in T. There were no significant relationships between control test scores and mean T levels. Findings are discussed in terms of their contributions to the resolution of ambiguities in prior reported data.
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Testosterone levels have been linked to spatial performance in both genders.
“Testosterone levels have been linked to spatial performance in both genders (e.g., Burkitt et al., 2007;Silverman et al., 1999;Yang et al., 2007)”
From Factors Related to Mean Score Group Differences on Cognitive Ability Tests: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Silverman et al., 1999
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BackgroundOn the effects of testosterone on brain behavioral functions
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“Some studies have found a positive relationship between testosterone and mental rotation in men (Silverman et al., 1999).”
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“Several studies have shown an association between mental rotation and endogenous testosterone levels [39-43] and the task has been shown to be reliable and valid for measuring spatial abilities [44,45].”
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BackgroundInfluentialBorn gay? The psychobiology of human sexual orientation
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BackgroundResultSex Differences in Cognition in Healthy Elderly Individuals
Munro, C. A., Winicki, J., Schretlen, D., Gower, E. W., Turano, K., Munoz, B., Keay, L., Bandeen-Roche, K., & West, S. (2012) · Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition · doi:10.1080/13825585.2012.690366 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
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“In spite of inconsistency, however, there is some evidence that testosterone can improve mental rotation ability (Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Hooven et al., 2004; Silverman et al., 1999), route-learning (Choi and Silverman, 2002), and performance of a block design task (Thilers et al.”
BackgroundStereotypes and Steroids: Using a Psychobiosocial Model to Understand Cognitive Sex Differences
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“Importantly, this report showed no relationship between spatial cognition and estradiol levels [10].”
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Salivary testosterone does not predict mental rotation performance in men or women
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InfluentialSex hormones and mental rotation: an intensive longitudinal investigation.
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“... present finding that androgens can have activational effects that enhance cognitive task performance when administered posttraining in the dosages utilized here are congruous with previous data that have shown that androgen levels in adulthood are related to performance on spatial tasks (Almeida, 1999; Christianse…”
MethodExplaining sex differences in mental rotation: role of spatial activity experience
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“N. Locklear). in men and women (Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Duff and Hampson, 2000; Gordon and Lee, 1986; Janowsky et al., 1994; Silverman et al., 1999), while negative correlations have been reported between estrogen levels and spatial cognition in women across the menstrual cycle (Hausmann…”
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Low CA1 spine synapse density is further reduced by castration in male non-human primates.
Léránth, C., Prange‐Kiel, J., Frick, K., & Horvath, T. (2004) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhh012 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
“Nevertheless, several studies in humans have demonstrated a positive relationship between testosterone levels and several types of memory, particularly in older men (Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Janowsky et al., 1994, 2001; Barrett-Connor et al., 1999; Silverman et al., 1999; Cherrier et al., 2001; Moffat et al., 2002).”
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Self-citationCastration Differentially Affects Spatial Working and Reference Memory in Male Rats
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“Testosterone levels in men have been positively correlated with mental rotation ability (Christiansen & Knussmann, 1987; Hooven, Chabris, Ellison, & Kosslyn, 2004; Silverman, Kastuk, Choi, & Phillips, 1999 ), route learning (Choi & Silverman, 2002), and maze navigation (Driscoll et al., 2005).”
BackgroundGender-Stereotyping and Cognitive Sex Differences in Mixed- and Same-Sex Groups
Hirnstein, M., Coloma Andrews, L., & Hausmann, M. (2014) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0311-5 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
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“For example, changes in circulating testosterone levels modulate spatial performance in both sexes (Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Moffat and Hampson, 1996; Neave et al., 1999; Silverman et al., 1999) and testosterone administration results in enhanced spatial ability in aged men (Janowsky…”
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“ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 17 March 2017 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00381 Edited by: Lorenza S. Colzato, Leiden University, Netherlands Reviewed by: Sven Mueller, Ghent University, Belgium Birgit Derntl, University of Tübingen, Germany *Correspondence: Andrea Scheuringer andrea.scheuringer@sbg.ac.at Belinda Pletzer bel…”
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Rahman, Q., Wilson, G., & Abrahams, S. (2004) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(03)00154-9 · Cited by 60
“…serum and saliva levels of sex hormones show either positive, negative, null or curvilinear effects on cognition, i.e., they are inconsistent (e.g. Silverman et al., 1999), whilst exogenously administered hormones, such as those given to transsexuals, lead to an improvement in male-typical…”
Negative 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 · see citing works
“…in Table I, the contribution of T in young men has been suggested to be either positive (Gordon and Lee, 1986; Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Silverman et al., 1999), or negative (Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Moffat and Hampson, 1996), or of no effect (Hassler…”
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“…that found either positive linear relationships (Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Gordon and Lee, 1986; Hooven et al., 2004; Moffat et al., 2002; Silverman et al., 1999; Thilers et al., 2006; van Strien et al., 2009) or quadratic/curvilinear relationships (Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Moffat and…”
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Development
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Hormonal Influences on Cognitive Function
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The relationship between testosterone and route-learning strategies in humans.
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“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).”
BackgroundLiben, L. S., Susman, E., Finkelstein, J., Chinchilli, V., Kunselman, S., Schwab, J., Dubas, J., Demers, L. M., Lookingbill, G., D'Arcangelo, M., et al. (2002) · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.2.236 · Cited by 48
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Testosterone influences spatial strategy preferences among adult male rats
Spritzer, M. D., Fox, E., Larsen, G. D., Batson, C. G., Wagner, B. A., & Maher, J. (2013) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.03.018 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“…2010; Ulubaev et al., 2009), some human studies have shown that testosterone improves mental rotation ability (Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Hooven et al., 2004; Silverman et al., 1999), route-learning (Choi and Silverman, 2002), and performance on a block design task (Thilers et al., 2006).”
BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease: the impact of age-related changes in reproductive hormones
Bates, K., Harvey, A. R., Carruthers, M., & Martins, R. N. (2005) · Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (CMLS) · doi:10.1007/s00018-004-4383-1 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Steroid Hormones and Cognitive Functioning in Aging Men: A Mini-Review
Sherwin, B. B. (2003) · Journal of Molecular Neuroscience · doi:10.1385/jmn:20:3:385 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“…several correlational studies in young men show a curvilinear relationship between T levels and visuospatial tasks (Gouchie and Kimura, 1991), others documented a positive linear relationship between T levels and performance on these same tasks (Christiansen, 1987, 1993; Silverman et al., 1999).”
BackgroundBimonte-Nelson, H., Acosta, J. I., & Talboom, J. (2010) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules15096050 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
“Testosterone was related to cognitive performance in young men and women, and spatial ability was related to the change in seasons in accordance with seasonal alterations in testosterone levels [197-199].”
BackgroundEffects of testosterone dose on spatial memory among castrated adult male rats
Wagner, B. A., Braddick, V. C., Batson, C. G., Cullen, B. H., Miller, L. E., & Spritzer, M. D. (2017) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.12.025 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
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Pubertal testosterone predicts mental rotation performance of young adult males
Vuoksimaa, E., Kaprio, J., Eriksson, C. J. P., & Rose, R. J. (2012) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.03.013 · Cited by 43 · 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).”
BackgroundSex hormones and male health: effects on components of the frailty syndrome.
Muller, M., Grobbee, D., Thijssen, J., van den Beld, A. W., & van der Schouw, Y. (2003) · Trends in endocrinology and metabolism · doi:10.1016/s1043-2760(03)00083-3 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
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“, 2016); these differences seem to be mainly attributed to circulating hormonal changes (Ali et al., 2018; Beking et al., 2018; Burke et al., 2016b; Nguyen, 2018; Silverman et al., 1999).”
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“We hypothesized that 1) consistent with existing studies (Geary et al., 1992; Gur et al., 2000; Jordan et al., 2002; McBurney et al., 1997; Moffat et al., 1998; O'Laughlin and Brubaker, 1998; Silverman et al., 1999), males would outperform females on a 3dimensional mental rotation task and 2) males would show greater…”
BackgroundResultActivational effects of sex hormones on cognition in men
Ulubaev, A., Lee, D. M., Purandare, N., Pendleton, N., & Wu, F. C. W. (2009) · Clinical Endocrinology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2265.2009.03562.x · Cited by 38 · see citing works
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“…previous studies on T and MRT performance have tended to use young university aged males (e.g., Hooven et al., 2004; Falter et al., 2006; Kempel et al., 2005; Gouchie and Kimura, 1991; Silverman et al., 1999), very little data exist on the association between plasma TandMRT performance as men age.”
MethodResultLongitudinal episodic memory trajectories in older adults with normal cognition
Liampas, I., Folia, V., Ntanasi, E., Yannakoulia, M., Sakka, P., Hadjigeorgiou, G., Scarmeas, N., Dardiotis, E., & Kosmidis, M. (2022) · Clinical Neuropsychologist · doi:10.1080/13854046.2022.2059011 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“…been suggested to at least partially account for the superior performance of men on visuospatial tasks, while oestrogens are considered to contribute to the higher overall female performance on verbal learning and memory tasks (Hamson et al., 2016; Hines et al., 2003; Silverman et al., 1999).”
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“For example, testosterone was related to cognitive performance in young men and women, and spatial ability was related to seasonal changes in accordance with related alterations in testosterone levels (Kimura and Hampson, 1994; Neave et al., 1999; Silverman et al., 1999).”
BackgroundTestosterone levels and mental rotation performance in Chinese men.
Yang, C.-F. J., Hooven, C. K., Boynes, M., Gray, P. B., & Pope, H. G. (2007) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.12.005 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Gender Differences in the Effects of Acute Stress on Spatial Ability
Gabriel, K. I., Hong, S. M., Chandra, M., Lonborg, S. D., & Barkley, C. L. (2011) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9877-0 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“That spatial ability is not fixed but variable is further supported by reports that testosterone levels are positively associated with the use of male-biased route-learning strategies and improved virtual maze and MR performance in men (Choi and Silverman 2002; Driscoll et al. 2005; Silverman et al. 1999 ) and women (…”
BackgroundPerspective and strategy interactively modulate sex differences in a 3D navigation task
Harris, T., Scheuringer, A., & Pletzer, B. (2019) · Biology of Sex Differences · doi:10.1186/s13293-019-0232-z · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Effects of testosterone on cognition in young adult male rhesus monkeys.
Lacreuse, A., Chiavetta, M. R., Shirai, A.-A. C., Meyer, J. S., & Grow, D. (2009) · Physiology and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.08.007 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
The Sex Specificity of Navigational Strategies in Alzheimer Disease
Cushman, L., & Duffy, C. J. (2007) · Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders · doi:10.1097/wad.0b013e318047df2f · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Pasiakos, S., Berryman, C., Karl, J., Lieberman, H., Orr, J., Margolis, L., Caldwell, J., Young, A., Montano, M., Evans, W., et al. (2017) · Contemporary Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/j.cct.2017.05.001 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Rahman, Q., Wilson, G., & Abrahams, S. (2004) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.118.1.243 · Cited by 22
“, 2000), circulating gonadal steroids (from the postnatal to adult phase of development; Neave et al., 1999; Silverman et al., 1999), and maternal stress or teratogenic agents during gestation (Ellis & Cole-Harding, 2001; cf.”
BackgroundHeiken, K. H., Brusch, G., Gartland, S., Escallón, C., Moore, I., & Taylor, E. N. (2016) · General and Comparative Endocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.07.023 · Cited by 21
“, 2013), and humans (Janowsky et al., 1994; Postma et al., 2000; Silverman et al., 1999; Cherrier et al., 2001, 2007; Burkitt et al., 2007) that baseline T is positively correlated with spatial learning and memory (but see Naghdi et al.”
BackgroundWomen outperform men in remembering to remember
Palermo, L., Cinelli, M., Piccardi, L., Ciurli, P., Incoccia, C., Zompanti, L., & Guariglia, C. (2016) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17470218.2015.1023734 · Cited by 21
“Post hoc analysis (Bonferroni test) showed that the women performed still significantly better than men in physical response trials (p, .05; women adjusted mean= 7.29; men adjusted mean= 6.79).”
MethodInfluentialExploring 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
Martin, D., Wittert, G., & Burns, N. R. (2007) · The Aging Male · doi:10.1080/13685530601183537 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Individually, none of these studies has actually obtained the proposed quadratic function in males [52].”
BackgroundGender based variation in cognitive functions in adolescent subjects
Mittal, S., Verma, P., Jain, N., Khatter, S., & Juyal, A. (2012) · Annals of Neurosciences · doi:10.5214/ans.0972.7531.190406 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Relationships between salivary estradiol and components of mental rotation in young men.
Kozaki, T., & Yasukouchi, A. (2008) · Journal of Physiological Anthropology · doi:10.2114/jpa2.27.19 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Victoroff, J., Quota, S., Adelman, J. R., Celinska, B., Stern, N., Wilcox, R., & Sapolsky, R. (2011) · Aggressive Behavior · doi:10.1002/ab.20376 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Locklear, M., Bhamidipaty, S., & Kritzer, M. (2014) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.12.032 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“…in aging, clinical cases of hypogonadalism, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and other disorders (Gordon and Lee, 1986; Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Janowsky et al., 1994; Silverman et al., 1999; Duff and Hampson, 2000; Cherrier et al., 2001, 2005, 2007; Janowsky, 2006; Moore et al., 2013).”
A Practical Guide to Gender Diversity for Computer Science Faculty
Franklin, D. M. (2013) · Synthesis lectures on professionalism and career advancement for scientists and engineers · doi:10.2200/s00495ed1v01y201304pro002 · Cited by 18 · 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
Lacreuse, A., Gore, H. E., Chang, J., & Kaplan, E. (2012) · Physiology and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.02.008 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“While positive associations have consistently been observed between endogenous T and various tests of visuospatial ability in young men [19-28], inconsistent results have been provided regarding the cognitive effects of exogenous T.”
Spatial abilities during the circalunar cycle in both sexes
Ostatníková, D., Hodosy, J., Skokňová, M., Putz, Z., Kúdela, M., & Celec, P. (2010) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.05.004 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Rahman, Q., Wilson, G., & Abrahams, S. (2004) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1076/jcen.26.1.141.23934 · Cited by 14
Harris, T., Hagg, J., & Pletzer, B. (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.755393 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Bergemann, N., Parzer, P., Kaiser, D., Maier-Braunleder, S., Mundt, C., & Klier, C. (2008) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.01.009 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“In these studies, spatial ability improved during menses, that is, during a period of low estrogen levels (Hampson and Kimura, 1988; Hampson, 1990; Silverman et al., 1999).”
Background
- Authors
- Silverman, I., Kastuk, D., Choi, J., & Phillips, K.
- Affiliations
- York University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Silverman, Irwin
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1999-11
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 813-822
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2132952248
- Cited by
- 159
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 14.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Hormonal and reproductive studies
- Keywords
- testosterone, spatial ability, mental rotation, salivary hormone levels, sex differences, diurnal variation, men, anagrams, digit symbol test
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aptitude, Circadian Rhythm, Depth Perception, Female, Humans, Male, Orientation, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Problem Solving, Saliva, Sex Characteristics, Space Perception, Testosterone
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