Activating effects of androgens on cognitive performance: causal evidence in a group of female-to-male transsexuals.
It is still unclear whether sex differences in cognitive functioning are mainly due to perinatal organizing effects of sex hormones on the brain, or to activating effects in adulthood. In a group of 22 female-to-male transsexuals a battery of visuospatial and verbal ability tests was administered twice: shortly before and 3 months after the start of androgen treatment. The administering of androgens was clearly associated with an increase in spatial ability performance. In contrast, it had a deteriorating effect on verbal fluency tasks. This study offers preliminary evidence that androgens directly and quickly affect cognitive performance in females.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.
S H
SH
Van Goozen
P T
PT
Cohen-Kettenis
L J
LJ
Gooren
N H
NH
Frijda
N E
NE
Van de Poll
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects*; D008777:Methyltestosterone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000187:drug effects*; D014189:Transsexualism / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000187:drug effects
D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D008777:Methyltestosterone