Sexual Orientation-Related Differences in Virtual Spatial Navigation and Spatial Search Strategies

Overview

Journal Arch Sex Behav

Specialties Psychiatry
Social Sciences

Date 2017 Apr 13

PMID 28401317

Citations 7

Authors

Qazi Rahman

Jonathan Sharp

Meadhbh McVeigh

Man-Ling Ho

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Spatial abilities are generally hypothesized to differ between men and women, and people with different sexual orientations. According to the cross-sex shift hypothesis, gay men are hypothesized to perform in the direction of heterosexual women and lesbian women in the direction of heterosexual men on cognitive tests. This study investigated sexual orientation differences in spatial navigation and strategy during a virtual Morris water maze task (VMWM). Forty-four heterosexual men, 43 heterosexual women, 39 gay men, and 34 lesbian/bisexual women (aged 18-54 years) navigated a desktop VMWM and completed measures of intelligence, handedness, and childhood gender nonconformity (CGN). We quantified spatial learning (hidden platform trials), probe trial performance, and cued navigation (visible platform trials). Spatial strategies during hidden and probe trials were classified into visual scanning, landmark use, thigmotaxis/circling, and enfilading. In general, heterosexual men scored better than women and gay men on some spatial learning and probe trial measures and used more visual scan strategies. However, some differences disappeared after controlling for age and estimated IQ (e.g., in visual scanning heterosexual men differed from women but not gay men). Heterosexual women did not differ from lesbian/bisexual women. For both sexes, visual scanning predicted probe trial performance. More feminine CGN scores were associated with lower performance among men and greater performance among women on specific spatial learning or probe trial measures. These results provide mixed evidence for the cross-sex shift hypothesis of sexual orientation-related differences in spatial cognition.

Citing Articles

Psychoneuroendocrine protocol to comprehensively study sexually dimorphic cognition.

Kheloui S, Rossi M, Jacmin-Park S, Larocque O, Vallee M, Kerr P Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2022; 6:100050.

PMID: 35757359 PMC: 9216706. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100050.

Sex Differences in Electronic Health Record Navigation Strategies: Secondary Data Analysis.

Seifer D, Mcgrath K, Scholl G, Mohan V, Gold J JMIR Hum Factors. 2021; 8(2):e25957.

PMID: 34184995 PMC: 8277360. DOI: 10.2196/25957.

Male sexual orientation, gender nonconformity, and neural activity during mental rotations: an fMRI study.

Folkierska-Zukowska M, Rahman Q, Marchewka A, Wypych M, Drozdziel D, Sokolowski A Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1):18709.

PMID: 33127919 PMC: 7599322. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74886-0.

A Review of Minority Stress as a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Elders.

Correro 2nd A, Nielson K J Gay Lesbian Ment Health. 2020; 24(1):2-19.

PMID: 33014237 PMC: 7531820. DOI: 10.1080/19359705.2019.1644570.

Sexual Orientation and Cognitive Ability: A Multivariate Meta-Analytic Follow-Up.

Xu Y, Norton S, Rahman Q Arch Sex Behav. 2020; 49(2):413-420.

PMID: 31975035 PMC: 7031189. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-020-01632-y.

References

Gaunet F, Thinus-Blanc C . Early-blind subjects' spatial abilities in the locomotor space: exploratory strategies and reaction-to-change performance. Perception. 1996; 25(8):967-81. DOI: 10.1068/p250967. View

Kober S, Neuper C . Sex differences in human EEG theta oscillations during spatial navigation in virtual reality. Int J Psychophysiol. 2010; 79(3):347-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.12.002. View

Savic I, Lindstrom P . PET and MRI show differences in cerebral asymmetry and functional connectivity between homo- and heterosexual subjects. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008; 105(27):9403-8. PMC: 2453705. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0801566105. View

Mueller S, Temple V, Oh E, Vanryzin C, Williams A, Cornwell B . Early androgen exposure modulates spatial cognition in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2008; 33(7):973-80. PMC: 2566857. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.04.005. View

Kallai J, Makany T, Karadi K, Jacobs W . Spatial orientation strategies in Morris-type virtual water task for humans. Behav Brain Res. 2005; 159(2):187-96. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2004.10.015. View

Rahman Q, Wilson G, Abrahams S . Sexual orientation related differences in spatial memory. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2003; 9(3):376-83. DOI: 10.1017/S1355617703930037. View

Collaer M, Hines M . Human behavioral sex differences: a role for gonadal hormones during early development?. Psychol Bull. 1995; 118(1):55-107. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.118.1.55. View

Guenzel F, Wolf O, Schwabe L . Sex differences in stress effects on response and spatial memory formation. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2013; 109:46-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.11.020. View

Kessels R, de Haan E, Kappelle L, Postma A . Varieties of human spatial memory: a meta-analysis on the effects of hippocampal lesions. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2001; 35(3):295-303. DOI: 10.1016/s0165-0173(01)00058-3. View

10.

Jonasson Z . Meta-analysis of sex differences in rodent models of learning and memory: a review of behavioral and biological data. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2005; 28(8):811-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.10.006. View

11.

Ruigrok A, Salimi-Khorshidi G, Lai M, Baron-Cohen S, Lombardo M, Tait R . A meta-analysis of sex differences in human brain structure. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013; 39:34-50. PMC: 3969295. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.12.004. View

12.

OLDFIELD R . The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia. 1971; 9(1):97-113. DOI: 10.1016/0028-3932(71)90067-4. View

13.

Neave N, Menaged M, Weightman D . Sex differences in cognition: the role of testosterone and sexual orientation. Brain Cogn. 1999; 41(3):245-62. DOI: 10.1006/brcg.1999.1125. View

14.

BAILEY J, Dunne M, Martin N . Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000; 78(3):524-36. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.78.3.524. View

15.

Rahman Q, Bhanot S, Emrith-Small H, Ghafoor S, Roberts S . Gender nonconformity, intelligence, and sexual orientation. Arch Sex Behav. 2011; 41(3):623-30. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-011-9737-1. View

16.

Parslow D, Morris R, Fleminger S, Rahman Q, Abrahams S, Recce M . Allocentric spatial memory in humans with hippocampal lesions. Acta Psychol (Amst). 2005; 118(1-2):123-47. DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2004.10.006. View

17.

McCormick C, Witelson S . A cognitive profile of homosexual men compared to heterosexual men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1991; 16(6):459-73. DOI: 10.1016/0306-4530(91)90030-w. View

18.

Janzen G, van Turennout M . Selective neural representation of objects relevant for navigation. Nat Neurosci. 2004; 7(6):673-7. DOI: 10.1038/nn1257. View

19.

Sanders G . Sexual orientation and visuo-spatial ability. Brain Cogn. 1986; 5(3):280-90. DOI: 10.1016/0278-2626(86)90032-1. View

20.

Astur R, Taylor L, Mamelak A, Philpott L, Sutherland R . Humans with hippocampus damage display severe spatial memory impairments in a virtual Morris water task. Behav Brain Res. 2002; 132(1):77-84. DOI: 10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00399-0. View