Having a Male Co-Twin Masculinizes Mental Rotation Performance in Females
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Probably the most robust cognitive sex difference is that, on average, males outperform females in tests of mental rotation ability (Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995). This sex difference is evident across many different cultures (Silverman, Choi, & Peters, 2007), and it appears early in infancy, at 3 to 5 months of age (Moore & Johnson, 2008; Quinn & Liben, 2008). Studies have suggested that elevated levels of fluctuating testosterone are associated with better spatial abilities among females, whereas in males, lower fluctuating testosterone levels relate to better spatial abilities (Gouchie & Kimura, 1991; Moffat & Hampson, 1996). In persons with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which usually affects the production of sex steroids, the organizational effects of elevated prenatal testosterone may account for improved spatial test performance in females and impaired spatial test performance in males (Puts, McDaniel, Jordan, & Breedlove, 2008). Moreover, a positive relationship between mental rotation test (MRT) performance and prenatal testosterone has been reported in healthy girls (Grimshaw, Sitarenios, & Finegan, 1995). Animal studies have shown that female fetuses located adjacent to male fetuses in the uterus can be masculinized through prenatal exposure to testosterone (Ryan & Vandenbergh, 2002). In humans, prenatal masculinization can be studied by comparing female twins from opposite-sex twin pairs with female twins from same-sex pairs. Sisters of twin brothers have been reported to be masculinized in physiological traits, including maternal fitness (Lummaa, Pettay, & Russell, 2007) and second-to-fourth-finger ratio (van Anders, Vernon, & Wilbur, 2006), but other studies have not demonstrated the same results (Medland, Loehlin, & Martin, 2008; Medland, Loehlin, Willemsen, et al., 2008). One commonly cited study concerns mental rotation ability in female twins from opposite- and same-sex pairs (Cole-Harding, Morstad, & Wilson, 1988); however, this study was published only as a meeting abstract. In the study reported here, we assessed masculinization effects on MRT performance among female twins with male co-twins by comparing their performance with that of female twins with female co-twins. We also investigated whether or not there are differences in MRT performance between males with female co-twins and males with male co-twins.
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The finding that females with male twins outperform those with female twins supports a prenatal masculinization hypothesis through hormonal transfer.
“supporting a prenatal masculinization hypothesis through hormonal transfer (Heil et al., 2011;Vuoksimaa et al., 2010)”
From Factors Related to Mean Score Group Differences on Cognitive Ability Tests: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Vuoksimaa et al., 2010
Females with male twins outperform those with female twins on spatial tasks.
“Research has found that females with male twins outperform those with female twins on spatial tasks”
From Factors Related to Mean Score Group Differences on Cognitive Ability Tests: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Vuoksimaa et al., 2010
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Castro-Alonso, J. C. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-20969-8_1 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Age, Sex, and Genetic and Environmental Effects on Unintentional Injuries in Young and Adult Twins
Salminen, S. T., Vuoksimaa, E., Rose, R. J., & Kaprio, J. A. (2018) · Twin Research and Human Genetics · doi:10.1017/thg.2018.61 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Earlier, a replicated masculinization effect was observed in, for example, male-favoring mental rotation ability (Vuoksimaa et al., 2010).”
Self-citationEpigenetic consequences of hormonal interactions between opposite‐sex twin fetuses
Kong, S., Peng, Y., Chen, W., Ma, X., Wei, Y., Zhao, Y., Li, R., Qiao, J., & Yan, L. (2020) · Clinical and Translational Medicine · doi:10.1002/ctm2.234 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Nanova, P., Kolev, V., & Yordanova, J. (2022) · Proceedings of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences · doi:10.7546/crabs.2022.02.01 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Perception: 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
“Interestingly, a study on twins reported significantly better mental rotation test performance in females with a male twin compared to females with a female twin (Vuoksimaa et al., 2010).”
Gaižauskaitė, R., Zelionkaitė, I., & Grikšienė, R. (2025) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2025.115520 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Segal, N. L., Orozco, E. N., Preston, K. S. J., & Gerkens, D. R. (2019) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2019.01.019 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
About Family and Fate: Childhood circumstances and human capital formation
Zwiers, E. (2019) · RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Sexual Dials (Not Switches) Theory: An Evolutionary Perspective on Sex and Gender Complexity
Schmitt, D. P. (2017) · Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture · doi:10.26613/esic.1.1.18 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Girls with male cotwins also show some evidence of masculinization (Vuoksimaa et al. 2010), and the amount of prenatal androgen exposure within normal levels also predicts sex differentiated psychology in girls and boys (Cohen-Bendahan, van de Beek, and Berenbaum 2005; Hines 2006; Auyeung et al.…”
BackgroundSilventoinen, K., Bogl, L. H., Jelenkovic, A., Vuoksimaa, E., Latvala, A., Li, W., Tan, Q., Zhang, D., Pang, Z., Ordoñana, J. R., et al. (2021) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationSex Differences in Migraine: A Twin Study
Fitzgerald, M. C., Saelzler, U. G., & Panizzon, M. S. (2021) · Frontiers in Pain Research · doi:10.3389/fpain.2021.766718 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…twin studies have demonstrated that females with a male co-twin exhibit lasting masculinization of perception, cognition, personality and risk of dementia (Tapp, Maybery, & Whitehouse, 2011; Loehlin & Martin, 2000; Vuoksimaa et al., 2010; Verweij, Mosing, Ullen & Madison, 2016; Luo et al., 2020).”
BackgroundПоловые различия в математических способностях
Черткова, Ю., & Егорова, М. (2013) · Психологические исследования · doi:10.54359/ps.v6i31.667 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Sex Differences in Verbal and Spatial Ability among Korean Young Adults
Kim, H.-K., & 김용숙 (2017) · The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology · doi:10.18205/kpa.2017.22.3.003 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Contributions of twin research to the study of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
Panizzon, M. S., Elman, J. A., & Vuoksimaa, E. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-821514-2.00031-3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationRelationships between STEM self-efficacy, same-sex role models and academic behaviour
Truscott, D. (2017) · Summit (Simon Fraser University) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Integrating Mechanisms and Functions to Understand Behavior
Welling, L. L. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (2019) · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190649739.013.1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Most evidence for this hypothesis comes from animal work (e.g., Phoenix et al., 1959), but evidence in humans is accumulating (e.g., Heil, Kavšek, Rolke, Beste, & Jansen, 2011; Vuoksimaa et al., 2010).”
BackgroundThe 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
Valla, J. M. (2013) · eCommons (Cornell University)
Human Behavioral Variations: Sex and Sex Differences
Segal, N. L. (2017) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-803994-6.00009-3
Aniskova, T. A. (2021) · CONTINUUM MATHS INFORMATICS EDUCATION · doi:10.24888/2500-1957-2021-2-9-15
Sex differences in migraine: A twin studyPreprint
Fitzgerald, M., Saelzler, U. G., & Panizzon, M. S. (2021) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2021.10.27.466155
Aniskova, T. A. (2020) · CONTINUUM MATHS INFORMATICS EDUCATION · doi:10.24888/2500-1957-2020-3-16-24
Chertkova, Y. D. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_743-1
Chertkova, Y. D. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_743
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
Bielert, C. F. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_212
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
Bielert, C. F. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_212-1
Inventors, Innovators and Entrepreneurs
Dent, D. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-75216-2_2
- Authors
- Vuoksimaa, E., Kaprio, J., Kremen, W. S., Hokkanen, L., Viken, R. J., Tuulio-Henriksson, A., & Rose, R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
- Corresponding author
- Vuoksimaa, Eero
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-06-25
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1069-1071
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- PMC
- PMC4438761
- OpenAlex
- W2097889371
- Cited by
- 80
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 13.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- STM:n Hallinnonalan avoin julkaisuarkisto (Julkari) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA12502, K05AA000145, R01AA012502, R01AA009203, R37AA012502)
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG022982, R01AG022381, R01AG018386)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities
- Keywords
- mental rotation, prenatal testosterone, female twins, twin pairs, sex differences in cognition, prenatal androgen exposure, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, maternal fitness, hemispheric lateralization, handedness
- MeSH terms
- Cognition, Female, Humans, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Rotation, Sex Characteristics, Sex Factors, Space Perception, Twins, Dizygotic, Masculinity
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