The Link Between Masculinity and Spatial Skills Is Moderated by the Estrogenic and Progestational Activity of Oral Contraceptives

Abstract

Conversations about gender and spatial skills frequently dissolve into a hackneyed debate over nature and nurture. This is particularly true for conversations concerning three-dimensional (3D) mental rotations skill, which shows the largest gender difference of all aspects of cognition, with men—on average—outperforming women. To advance this empirical area of inquiry, biopsychosocial influences on spatial skills should be considered, and a unique opportunity do to that is provided by combined oral contraceptives (OCs). OCs with relatively low estradiol doses and with highly androgenic progestins have been positively related to spatial skills. Gender self-concepts, including masculine and feminine self-perceptions, have also been positively related to spatial skills. It is wholly unknown, however, whether the exogenous sex hormones contained in OCs moderate the link between self-perceived masculinity and 3D mental rotations. This study filled that knowledge gap by utilizing a sample of 141 naturally cycling (NC) women and 229 OC users who completed a computerized survey and cognitive tests. A series of moderation analyses examined whether the link between masculinity and 3D mental rotations depended on pill use or on the estrogenic, progestational, or androgenic activity in OCs, which were operationalized using a novel coding scheme. Results showed that the positive masculinity-3D mental rotations link was only present for NC women, presumably because it was altered by the exogenous hormones in OCs. Indeed, the link was accentuated in users of OCs with relatively low estrogenic and high progestational activity. Future research on menstrual cycle and pill phase is needed, but these findings importantly delineate ways in which biological and psychosocial factors combine to explain variation in spatial skills among women. They also suggest that focus should be placed on the under-investigated progestational activity of OCs, which is facilitated by the novel quantification of OC action used in this study. Thus, this research increases understanding of the neurocognitive and behavioral correlates of ovarian hormones and has implications for the betterment of women’s health.

Evaluating the Cognitive Impacts of Drospirenone, a Spironolactone-Derived Progestin, Independently and in Combination With Ethinyl Estradiol in Ovariectomized Adult Rats

“…A growing body of research supports the tenet that oral contraceptives impact cognition and alter brain function in task- and composition- dependent manners (e.g., Gogos, 2013 ; Egan and Gleason, 2012 ; Beltz et al, 2015 , 2022 ; Porcu et al, 2019 ; Taylor et al, 2020 ; Ycaza Herrera et al, 2020 ; Gravelsins et al, 2021 ; Lewis et al, 2022 ; Menting-Henry et al, 2022 ). Overall, the current series of experiments found that the spironolactone-derived progestin drospirenone has beneficial effects for spatial working memory performance in a young adult Ovx rat model, and that the synthetic estrogen EE has variable effects on behavior that depend on dose and combination with drospirenone.…”

Gender identity, sexual orientation, and the prenatal androgen theory: Reevaluating definitions, cognitive tests, and somatic markers.

“…Nonetheless, it was less innovative, and now more dated, in the design and labeling of gender scales with which participants scored themselves. In addition, we did not collect detailed data on hormonal birth control, menstrual cycle, and other factors that have since been suggested to have an influence on MRT performance (Beltz et al, 2022) but have yet to be included in studies of transgender identity. Nonetheless, despite these concerns, the more inclusive methods employed in our study produced different results from those using standard practices and provide new insight into the years in which transgender identity was increasing in visibility in public discourse.…”

Weak associations between personality and contraceptive choice

“…Indeed, various gender-sensitive facets of extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism may not only be grouped according to the BIG-5, but also along the overarching dimensions of masculinity and femininity ( Gruber et al, 2019 ). Given that femininity in particular has been associated with gray matter volumes in prefrontal areas ( Pletzer, 2019 ), while masculinity has repeatedly been related to spatial abilities ( Reilly and Neumann, 2013 ; Beltz et al, 2022 ), it is an interesting question whether HC choice is also associated with femininity or masculinity. So far, two studies have investigated associations between HC-use and women’s gender role self-concept with inconsistent results: While one study demonstrates that HC-users rate themselves as more feminine compared to non-users ( Pletzer et al, 2015 ), the other study demonstrates no differences in the gender role self-concept of HC-users and non-users ( Nielson and Beltz, 2021 ).…”