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Effects of Fetal Testosterone on Visuospatial Ability

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Abstract

This study investigated whether fetal testosterone (FT) measured from second trimester amniotic fluid was related to specific aspects of visuospatial ability, in children aged 7–10 years (35 boys, 29 girls). A series of tasks were used: the children’s Embedded Figures Test (EFT) (a test of attention to detail), a ball targeting task (measuring hand-eye coordination), and a computerized mental rotation task (measuring rotational ability). FT was a significant predictor for EFT scores in both boys and girls, with boys also showing a clear advantage for this task. No significant sex differences were observed in targeting. Boys scored higher than girls on mental rotation. However, no significant relationships were observed between FT and targeting or mental rotation. Girls’ performance on the mental rotation and targeting tasks was significantly related to age, indicating that these tasks may have been too difficult for the younger children. These results indicate that FT has a significant role in some aspects of cognitive development but that further work is needed to understand its effect on the different aspects of visuospatial ability.

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Notes

  1. The results excluding the one outlier in FT level did not differ significantly from those obtained with the full dataset. The full results of these analyses are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants to SBC from the MRC and the Nancy Lurie-Marks Family Foundation. BA was supported by a scholarship from Trinity College, Cambridge. We are grateful to the families who have taken part in this longitudinal study over many years, and to Melissa Hines, Greg Davis, and Ieuan Hughes for valuable discussions. This study was conducted in association with the NIHR CLAHRC for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18B Trumpington Rd., Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK

    Bonnie Auyeung, Rebecca Knickmeyer, Emma Ashwin & Simon Baron-Cohen

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Rebecca Knickmeyer

  3. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK

    Kevin Taylor

  4. Department of Foetal Medicine, Rosie Maternity Hospital, Robinson Way, Cambridge, UK

    Gerald Hackett

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  1. Bonnie Auyeung
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  2. Rebecca Knickmeyer
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  3. Emma Ashwin
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  5. Gerald Hackett
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  6. Simon Baron-Cohen
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Correspondence to Bonnie Auyeung.

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Auyeung, B., Knickmeyer, R., Ashwin, E. et al. Effects of Fetal Testosterone on Visuospatial Ability. Arch Sex Behav 41, 571–581 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9864-8

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