Mental rotation in female fraternal twins: Evidence for intra-uterine hormone transfer?

Men outperform women in mental rotation by about one standard deviation. Prenatal exposure to testosterone has been suggested as one cause. In animals it has been shown that a female fetus located between two male ones is exposed to higher levels of testosterone. It is still unclear whether intra-uterine hormone transfer exists in humans. Therefore, the influence of an intra-uterine presence of a male co twin was studied in female fraternal twins (N = 200). Women with a male co-twin outperformed women with a female co-twin by about a third standard deviation. In a no-twin control group (N = 200), performance of women with a slightly older sibling did not depend upon the sibling's sex. These findings provide preliminary support for the theory of an influence of prenatal testosterone on mental rotation performance.

Research highlights▶ Men outperform women in mental rotation, due to prenatal testosterone exposure. ▶ Does intra-uterine hormone transfer from a male co-twin exists in humans? ▶ Women with a male co-twin outperformed women with a female co-twin. ▶ Performance of women with an older sibling did not depend upon the sibling's sex. ▶ These findings provide support for the prenatal testosterone thory.