Sex differences in spatial navigation: the role of gonadal hormones

In the past decade studies have illuminated a more nuanced pattern in sex differences in navigating an environment and the bias to use one or another memory system to solve a navigational task. This review focuses on two types of memory in rodents; place/spatial memory and response/habitual memory. These two types of memory are affected by levels of gonadal hormones such as testosterone, estrogens, and progesterone. Studies on similar types of memory in humans also show sex differences, albeit the influence of hormones in women do not match female rats. Hormone levels are rarely measured when testing sex differences in humans. Thus, we need more research that measures hormones while also measuring sex differences in these memory systems important for navigation.