title: Negative association of testosterone on spatial visualization in 35 to 80 year old men.
abstract: Androgens have been linked to visuospatial ability. We examined the relationship between serum free testosterone (T) levels and spatial visualization ability in a population-based sample of 450 healthy men between the ages of 35 and 80 years. They were tested on block design and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) draw-a-figure, as well as tasks assessing episodic memory, semantic memory, procedural memory, and verbal fluency. Blood was analyzed for free T and estradiol. Participants were grouped into high or low free T based on age-specific median values. Participants with low free T performed at a superior level on both the block design task and draw-a-figure task as compared to participants with high free T. The results are discussed within the scant body of research on androgens and cognition in men.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Sciences Department, Raymond Walters College, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45236, USA. julie.yonker@uc.edu
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Yonker
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Lars-Göran
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herlitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012016:Reference Values; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone