Activating effects of cross-sex hormones on cognitive functioning: a study of short-term and long-term hormone effects in transsexuals

Serum Free Testosterone and Estradiol Levels in Perceptual-Verbal and Spatial Abilities;Differences in Sex and Hand Preference

“…Wolf & Kirschbaum, (2002) have indeed shown that in older women higher estradiol levels were associated with better verbal memory (paired associates). Anti-androgen therapy in combination with estrogen treatment was shown to have no enhancing effect on verbal fluency in adult men (Slabbekoorn et al, 1999). Women were shown to have enhanced verbal articulation during the pre-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle when only estrogren levels were high (Hampson, 1990).Manipulations of sex hormone levels appeared to be unrelated to verbal skills and perceptual speed in transsexuals (Slabbekoorn et al, 1999), while in menopausal women estrogen replacement therapy have been shown to improve cognition, especially verbal memory (Wolf, 2003).…”

“…Anti-androgen therapy in combination with estrogen treatment was shown to have no enhancing effect on verbal fluency in adult men (Slabbekoorn et al, 1999). Women were shown to have enhanced verbal articulation during the pre-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle when only estrogren levels were high (Hampson, 1990).Manipulations of sex hormone levels appeared to be unrelated to verbal skills and perceptual speed in transsexuals (Slabbekoorn et al, 1999), while in menopausal women estrogen replacement therapy have been shown to improve cognition, especially verbal memory (Wolf, 2003). Serum free and bioavailable estradiol may have beneficial effects for cognitive decline in older women (Yaffe, Haan et al, 2000), but this benefit may be obtained with a low dose of estrogen (Tierney, 2000).…”

Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

“…Androgen therapy was also administered to female to male transsexuals in high doses as a preparation before gender reassignment. Their spatial skills have significantly improved, while verbal skills declined considerably (87). For ethical reasons, nowadays the manipulation of gonadal hormones is restricted to patients in clinical studies.…”

Sex Hormones and Cognitive Functioning of Women

“…Da androgeni hormoni mogu promijeniti kognitivne obrasce funkcioniranja, pokazala su i istraživanja na transseksualcima. Kod žena koje su operacijom promijenile spol učinak u zadacima verbalne fl uentnosti je opao, dok se u zadacima prostornog tipa povećao nakon tromjesečne terapije androgenima (37). Rezultati jedne novije studije također su pokazali da je četveromjesečni tretman androgenima u šest žena koje su bile podvrgnute operaciji promjene spolnog identiteta, izazvao povećanje ukupnog volumena mozga, kao i povećanje volumena hipotalamusa.…”