Sex differences in human virtual water maze performance: Novel measures reveal the relative contribution of directional responding and spatial knowledge

Abstract

Sex differences in humans on virtual water maze navigation are well established when overall performance is measured, e.g., by the total time taken to find the hidden platform, total path length, or quadrant dwell time during probe trials. Currently, it is unknown whether males are better spatial learners than females, or if overall performance differences reflect other aspects of the task unrelated to spatial memory. Here, males and females were tested on a virtual analogue of the Morris water maze. We devised a novel method of analysis in which each trial was divided into an initial trajectory phase and search phase. We also implemented a new measure of spatial learning during early and late training, by including trials in which subjects were only required to indicate where they thought the hidden target zone was located. Consistent with previous reports, males outperformed females on overall measures of task performance. Males also performed significantly better on all initial trajectory phase variables. Interestingly, only small (non-significant) differences were observed during the search phase and when spatial learning was tested without the constraints of a typical water maze trial. Our results suggest that spatial knowledge regarding the location of the hidden target zone is not the main factor responsible for overall sex differences in virtual water maze performance. Instead, the largest sex differences were observed during the initial trajectory phase of the trial, which is thought to depend on effective processing of distal features of the environment.

Cultural background shapes spatial reference frame proclivity

“…Males responded faster and made fewer errors than females. Such a male advantage is in line with several previous studies14151617. Interestingly, this male advantage was present throughout all cultures and age groups for both types of performance measures.…”

“…Among the most prominent task examples are the Morris Water Maze16 and the Mental Rotation task17. In both tasks, males make fewer errors and take less time to solve the task.…”

Hippocampal development and the dissociation of cognitive-spatial mapping from motor performance

“…Behaviorally, the largest sex differences have been reported during the initial trajectory phase of a trial 35 , which may depend on effective processing of distal features of the environment in planning appropriate navigational behavior. In another study young male and female rats were equally proficient in finding the platform during training trials, however probe tests showed that young male rats had better knowledge of the platform's precise location and was correlated with larger basal forebrain cholinergic neurons compared to females 36 .…”

Hipertiroidili sıçanlarda uzamsal öğrenme performansına cinsiyetin etkisi

“…Uzamsal yetenek testlerinde erkeklerin kadınlardan daha iyi performans sergiledikleri, sözel yetenek testlerinde ise kadınların erkeklerden daha iyi performans sergiledikleri bilinmektedir (5,6). İnsanlarda, sanal Morris su labirentinde erkeklerin dişilerden anlamlı derecede daha iyi performans gösterdikleri bildirilmiştir; bu da daha iyi uzamsal öğren-me ve bellek anlamına gelir (7,8). Görsel bilginin edinilmesindeki ve bu bilgilerin uygulanma biçimindeki farklılıklar, performans farklılıklarına katkıda bulunuyor gibi gözükmektedir (9).…”