Sex differences in visual spatial ability in 9-year-old children

Vederhus, Lillian; Krekling, Sturla

doi:10.1016/s0160-2896(96)80004-3

Cited by 41 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Sex differences in learning ability have been observed in higher animal taxa, including primates, where males have an inferior learning ability (Blote and Van Gool 1989;Vederhus and Krekling 1996;Londsdorf et al 2004). In this study we showed the existence of a distinct sex bias in associative learning in C. elegans (Figure 1, B and C).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Effects of Sex and Insulin/Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Signaling on Performance in an Associative Learning Paradigm inCaenorhabditis elegans

Vellai¹,

McCulloch

Gems

et al. 2006

Genetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Learning is an adaptive change in behavior in response to environmental stimuli. In mammals, there is a distinct female bias to learn skills that is still unprecedented in other animal taxa. Here we have investigated the biological determinants of performance in an associative learning paradigm in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Using an assay of chemotactic reactions associated with food deprivation, wild-type male worms show inferior learning ability relative to hermaphrodites. Sex-based learning difference is therefore an ancient evolutionary feature appearing even in relatively simple animals. C. elegans mutants with reduced insulin/IGF-1 signaling also exhibit a greatly reduced learning ability in this assay. In addition, hyperactivation of insulin/IGF-1 signaling through loss-of-function mutations in the PTEN phosphatase daf-18, a negative regulator of insulin/IGF-1 signaling, enhances learning ability beyond that of wild type. According to our epistasis analysis, the effect of DAF-2 on learning acts via phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP 3 ) production, but not the DAF-16 FOXO transcription factor. This implies that the signaling pathway from DAF-2 affecting this learning paradigm branches between PIP 3 production and DAF-16. However, learning capacity of nematodes is lowered by loss-offunction mutations in daf-16, suggesting involvement of noninsulin/IGF-1 signaling-dependent DAF-16 activation in learning. Potentially, sex and insulin/IGF-1 signaling affect performance in this learning assay via effects on the neurobiology of learning.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Effects of Sex and Insulin/Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Signaling on Performance in an Associative Learning Paradigm inCaenorhabditis elegans

Vellai¹,

McCulloch

Gems

et al. 2006

Genetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Sex differences in spatial abilities are already present in prepubertal children [6,7]. These findings might be explained by the effects of prenatal testosterone (T) affecting the very early development of brain tissues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of exogenous testosterone on spatial memory in rats

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Testosterone (T) is known to affect spatial abilities in men and women. Studies focusing on this relationship showed that both endogenous variability of T and administration of exogenous T, altered mental rotation and spatial visualization. Organizational and activational effects of T can be separately identified. The aim of our study was to evaluate the activational effects of exogenous T on spatial memory in male and female rats. T was administered 3 times a week over a two week period in either 1 mg/kg for low testosterone group or 10 mg/kg for high testosterone group. The Morris water maze was performed to assess the rat's working and reference spatial memory. T and estradiol levels were measured in plasma. Increase in plasma T levels was confirmed in the experimental groups in comparison to the control groups (receiving sterile oil, 3 times a week over a two week period). Low dose T impaired working, but improved reference memory in female rats. In male rats the negative effects of T (both doses) on reference memory were shown. This experiment showed that the activational effects of exogenous testosterone on spatial memory of rats were gender and dose-dependent.© Versita Sp. z o.o.

show abstract

“…However, in the studies included in their meta-analysis, the VMRT had only been administered to children older than 14. Vederhus and Krekling (1996) administered a modified version of the Vandenberg and Kuse task to 9-10 year old children and found an effect size of d = .56 in favor of boys. It thus seems likely that a reliable sex difference in performance on the conventional version of this test can already be found in children below 13 years of age.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%