The effects of sex steroids on spatial performance: a review and an experimental clinical investigation.

Lynn S. Liben, Elizabeth J. Susman, Jordan W. Finkelstein, Vernon M. Chinchilli, Susan Kunselman, Jacqueline Schwab, Judith Semon Dubas, Laurence M. Demers, Georgia Lookingbill, M. Rose Darcangelo, Holleen R. Krogh, Howard E. Kulin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

Males typically surpass females in spatial performance, an outcome that may be linked to testosterone and estrogen. The authors (a) review physiological mechanisms, developmental periods, and past empirical work relevant to sex steroids' effects on human spatial performance and (b) report an experimental study of the role of actively circulating sex steroids in adolescents being treated for delayed puberty (N = 55; mean age = 13.70 years). Sex steroids (simulating early, middle, and late puberty) and placebos were given alternately over 21 months and spatial tests were given every 3 months. Spatial performance showed traditional sex differences but did not vary with levels of actively circulating sex steroids.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)236-253
Number of pages18
JournalDevelopmental psychology
Volume38
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2002

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Demography
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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