Sex differences in spatial navigation and perception in human adolescents and emerging adults

Abstract

Males typically outperform females on spatial tasks, beginning early in life and continuing into adulthood. This study aimed to characterize age and sex differences in human spatial ability using a virtual Water Maze Task (vWMT), which is based on the classic Morris water maze spatial navigation task used in rodents. Performance on the vWMT and on a task assessing visuospatial perception, Mental Rotations Test (MRT), was examined in 33 adolescents and 39 emerging adults. For the vWMT, significant effects of age and sex were observed for path length in the target region (narrower spatial sampling), and heading error, with emerging adults performing better than adolescents, and an overall male advantage. For the MRT, males scored higher than females, but only in emerging adulthood. Overall, sex differences in visuospatial perception (MRT) emerge differently from those observed on a classic navigation task, with age and sex-specific superior vWMT performance likely related to the use of more efficient strategies. Importantly, these results extend the developmental timeline of spatial ability characterization to include adolescent males and females performing a virtual version of the classic vWMT.

Neurotoxicity may be an overlooked consequence of benzo[a]pyrene exposure that is relevant to human health risk assessment

“…We note that virtual versions of the Morris water maze test have been developed and validated (e.g., [112]), and are being used to translate the Morris water maze test findings from preclinical (animal) to clinical (human) populations (reviewed in [113]). The virtual versions are computer-assisted navigation tasks that provide auditory feedback to a participant [112].…”

Sex Differences in Long-Term Potentiation at Temporoammonic-CA1 Synapses: Potential Implications for Memory Consolidation

“…In humans, as early as infancy, children have the ability to localize spatial information based on the relationship between an event and environmental features [2,3]. Studies show that a significant improvement in the ability to process spatial and contextual information occurs in adolescence, the consequence of rapid structural and functional changes in the brain from childhood into adolescence [3]. Sex differences in performing spatial tasks have long been observed in humans, non-human primates and rodents [4–9], but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.…”

Prenatal alcohol exposure affects brain function during place learning in a virtual environment differently in boys and girls

“…Although most studies report better allocentric navigational performance in males, including prepubertal children (Newhouse, et al, 2007), some using computer-simulated versions of the MWM (Astur, et al, 1998(Astur, et al, , 2004Burkitt, et al, 2007;Daugherty, et al, 2014;Driscoll, et al, 2005;Mueller, et al, 2008;Nowak, et al, 2014;Sneider, et al, 2015;van Gerven, et al, 2012;Woolley, et al, 2010) have found no sex differences in performance (Jacobs, et al, 1997(Jacobs, et al, , 1998Sneider, et al, 2011). It is possible that inclusion of a probe trial, where the platform is removed unbeknownst to the participants, may have increased sensitivity in detecting sex differences in these studies as a male advantage has been demonstrated previously in probe trials even in the absence of performance differences in invisible-target trials (Nowak, et al, 2014;Sneider, et al, 2015).…”

“…Sex differences in spatial navigation have been widely reported, with males performing better across a range of ages, including young adulthood (Astur, et al, 1998;Astur, Tropp, Sava, Constable, & Markus, 2004;Burkitt, Widman, & Saucier, 2007;Driscoll, Hamilton, Yeo, Brooks, & Sutherland, 2005;Mueller, Jackson, & Skelton, 2008;Nowak, Diamond, Land, & Moffat, 2014;Sneider, et al, 2015;van Gerven, Schneider, Wuitchik, & Skelton, 2012;Woolley, et al, 2010), older adulthood (Driscoll, et al, 2005), prepubertal childhood (Newhouse, Newhouse, & Astur, 2007), and adolescence (Sneider, et al, 2015). Notably, some fMRI studies have shown differences in brain activation between males and females during spatial navigation (Grön, et al, 2000;Wunderlich, 2001), even in the absence of performance differences (Sneider, Sava, Rogowska, & Yurgelun-Todd, 2011).…”