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Are There Sex Differences in the Genetic and Environmental Effects on Mental Rotation Ability?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Eero Vuoksimaa ,
Richard J. Viken ,
Laura Hokkanen ,
Annamari Tuulio-Henriksson ,
Richard J. Rose  and
Jaakko Kaprio
Eero Vuoksimaa*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland. eero.vuoksimaa@helsinki.fi
Richard J. Viken
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, United States of America.
Laura Hokkanen
Affiliation:
Institute of Behavioral Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Annamari Tuulio-Henriksson
Affiliation:
Institute of Behavioral Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland; Research Department, Social Insurance Institution, Finland.
Richard J. Rose
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, United States of America.
Jaakko Kaprio
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland; Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
*
*Address for correspondence: Eero Vuoksimaa, Department of Public Health, P.O. Box 41 (Mannerheimintie 172), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.

Abstract

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Probably the most robust sex difference in cognitive abilities is that on average males outperform females in tests of mental rotation. Using twin data we tested whether there are sex differences in the magnitude of genetic and environmental effects on mental rotation test performance and whether the same or different genetic effects operate in females and males. The present study replicated the well-known male advantage in mental rotation ability. The relative proportion of variance explained by genetic effects did not differ between females and males, but interestingly, absolute additive genetic and unique environmental variances were greater in males reflecting significantly greater phenotypic variance in mental rotation test performance in males. Over half of the variance in mental rotation test performance was explained by genetic effects, which suggest that mental rotation ability is a good phenotype for studies finding genes underlying spatial abilities. Results indicate that females and males could be combined for such genetic studies, because the same genetic effects affected mental rotation test performance in females and males.

Keywords

genetic modelingheritabilitymental rotation testsex differencetwins
Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , 01 October 2010 , pp. 437 - 441
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010