Sex differences in visuo-spatial processing: An fMRI study of mental rotation

Hugdahl, Kenneth; Thomsen, Tormod; Ersland, Lars

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.01.026

Cited by 317 publications

(235 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Yet more recent evidence indicates that these apparent sex differences are much smaller than previously thought and often non-significant (Hines 2004). For instance, a more recent fMRI study using Mental Rotation did not find any sex differences on accuracy or reaction times, but rather different analytic strategies (Hugdahl et al 2006). EMB theory predicts better performance for autistic individuals in Figure Disembedding, given the acclaimed sex difference in this task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Visuo-Spatial Performance in Autism: A Meta-analysis

Muth

Hönekopp

Falter

2014

J Autism Dev Disord

127

101

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Visuo-Spatial Performance in Autism: A Meta-analysis

Muth

Hönekopp

Falter

2014

J Autism Dev Disord

127

101

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“…Strategy differences have also been proposed to account for gender differences in other aspects of cognition and behavior (e.g., Hugdahl, Thomsen, & Ersland, 2006;Jordan & Wüstenberg, 2010;Lipp et al, 2012;Moriguchi, Touroutoglou, Dickerson, & Barrett, 2013). In interpreting differences in the patterns of brain activation, for instance, Moriguchi et al (2013) held that women are more self-focused whereas men are more world-focused during affective experiences, whereas Hughdahl et al (2005) classified women as adopting a serial, categorical processing approach during mental rotation relative to a coordinate processing approach employed by men.…”

Section: Gender and Cognitive Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender and creativity: an overview of psychological and neuroscientific literature

Abraham

2015

Brain Imaging and Behavior

175

110

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The topic of gender differences in creativity generates substantial scientific and public interest, but also courts considerable controversy. Owing to the heterogeneous nature of the findings associated with this line of research, the general picture often appears puzzling or obscure. The present article presents a selective overview of psychological and neuroscientific literature that has a relevant bearing on the theme of gender and creativity. Topics that are explored include the definition and methods of assessing creativity, a summary of behavioral investigations on gender in relation to creativity, postulations that have been forwarded to understand gender differences in creative achievement, gender-based differences in the structure and function of the brain, gender-related differences in behavioral performance on tasks of normative cognition, and neuroscientific studies of gender and creativity. The final section of the overview presents a detailed discussion of the idea that differences between men and women in creative cognition are best explained with reference to the gender-dependent adopted strategies or cognitive style when faced with generative tasks. Gender and Creativity 3Creativity refers to the singularly complex human ability to produce novel ideas, generate new solutions, and express oneself in a unique manner. Although prominent works of art and astounding scientific discoveries are the customary associations that are readily evoked when we consider the concept of creativity, our capacity to be creative is evident in virtually all aspects of human life when engaged in language and communication, choice and decision making, as well as planning and organization (Mark A. Runco & Pritzker, 2011;Sawyer, 2012). While the potential to be creative exists within each person, there is considerable individual variability in both the type and amount of creative output that is eventually produced over our lifetimes. A substantial proportion of the empirical investigations in creativity are directed at uncovering which variables have a positive or negative impact on creativity. Gender is one factor that has been explored in this regard within psychological research. This paper provides a general overview of psychological and neuroscientific research that has a direct or indirect bearing on the topic of gender and creativity. The first part of this paper is devoted to understanding what is meant by creativity in terms of definition and methods of assessment. This is followed by a summary of behavioral findings on gender-related differences in creative thinking and a discussion of the explanations that have been forwarded to understand such differences. Current knowledge concerning gender-based behavioral and neurobiological differences in other (non-creative) aspects of cognition is then explored. In the final part of the paper, implications of findings from neuroscientific studies of gender differences in creative thinking are discussed.Gender and Creativity 4

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“…Additionally, findings that reaction times and error rates increase with increasing angular differences between objects has indicated that comparisons are made after mentally rotating internal representations of objects to the same orientations (Shepard and Metzler, 1971). Results from research measuring brain activation (Hugdahl et al, 2006;Jordan et al, 2002) and patterns of visual attention (Alexander and Son, 2007) during task performance have suggested this process differs between men and women, such that men may generally manipulate holistic representations (i.e., a mental image of the object is constructed and then rotated), whereas women may generally manipulate component part representations (i.e., they may focus on comparing object parts). Holistic representations correspond to a single unit that can be manipulated in the mind.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blocks and bodies: Sex differences in a novel version of the Mental Rotations Test

Alexander

Evardone

2008

Hormones and Behavior

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A novel version of the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) that alternated the standard block figures with three-dimensional human figures was administered to 99 men and 129 women. Women and men differed predictably in their retrospective reports of childhood play and digit ratios, a putative measure of prenatal androgen action. Compared to the block figure items, human figure items on the modified MRT were associated with an improvement in performance in both sexes. However, consistent with the study hypothesis, the enhancing effect of the human figure condition on performance as measured by conventional scores was smaller in men compared to women and not at all evident in men when performance was measured by ratio scores. A closer inspection of the human figures effects on test scores showed performance in women improved for both male and female figure items. In contrast, relative to scores on block figure items, performance in men improved when stimuli were male figures but did not improve when stimuli were female figures. These results add to the evidence that the magnitude of sex differences in scores on the MRT may vary according to the test content and item properties. The findings suggest that online measures of cognitive processing in response to different classes of test stimuli (e.g., animate vs. inanimate objects, self-relevant vs. neutral stimuli) may prove useful in research aimed at understanding the hormonal and social factors contributing to the sex difference in performance on the MRT.

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Sex differences in visuo-spatial processing: An fMRI study of mental rotation

Cited by 317 publications

References 43 publications

Visuo-Spatial Performance in Autism: A Meta-analysis

Visuo-Spatial Performance in Autism: A Meta-analysis

Gender and creativity: an overview of psychological and neuroscientific literature

Blocks and bodies: Sex differences in a novel version of the Mental Rotations Test

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