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Sex, but not Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism, Differences in Spatial Performance in Young Adults

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how sex and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype contribute to individual differences in spatial learning and memory. The associations of APOE genotype with neurocognitive function have been well studied among the elderly but less is known at earlier ages. Young adults (n = 169, 88 females) completed three neurocognitive tasks: mental rotation, spatial span, and Memory Island, a spatial navigation test. Males outperformed females on all three tasks: finding the hidden targets more quickly on Memory Island (Cohen’s d = 0.62) and obtaining higher scores on mental rotation (d = 0.54) and spatial span (d = 0.37). In contrast, no significant effects of APOE were observed. The identified sex differences elaborate upon past literature documenting sexually dimorphic performance on specific neurobehavioral tasks.

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Acknowledgments

Oregon Health and Science University receives a modest, one-time licensing fee from some laboratories that use Memory Island

Conflict of interest

Authors Alia L. Yasen, Jacob Raber, Jeremy K. Miller, and Brian J. Piper declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Willamette University, Salem, OR, USA

    Alia L. Yasen, Jeremy K. Miller & Brian J. Piper

  2. Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Jacob Raber & Brian J. Piper

  3. Division of Neuroscience and Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Jacob Raber

  4. Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Husson University, Bangor, ME, 04401, USA

    Brian J. Piper

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  1. Alia L. Yasen
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Correspondence to Brian J. Piper.

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Yasen, A.L., Raber, J., Miller, J.K. et al. Sex, but not Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism, Differences in Spatial Performance in Young Adults. Arch Sex Behav 44, 2219–2226 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0497-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0497-1

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