Negative association of testosterone on spatial visualization in 35 to 80 year old men.

• 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.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Fysiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Physiology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Adolescent

Adult

Aged

Aged

80 and over

Aging

blood

psychology

Analysis of Variance

Cognition

physiology

Humans

Imagination

physiology

Male

Memory

physiology

Middle Aged

Problem Solving

physiology

Psychiatric Status Rating Scales

Reference Values

Space Perception

physiology

Spatial Behavior

physiology

Testosterone

blood

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)