Testosterone metabolism: a possible biological underpinning of non-verbal IQ in intellectually gifted girls

Sign In

  1. Home
  2. Publications
  3. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis
  4. Publication Articles
  5. Article

Publications

Share / Export Citation / Email / Print / Text size:

Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis

Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology

Subject: Behavioral Sciences, Biomedical Sciences & Nutrition, Life Sciences, Medicine, Neurosciences

GET ALERTS

ISSN: 0065-1400
eISSN: 1689-0035

DESCRIPTION

Article Metrics
83
Reader(s)
168
Visit(s)
0
Comment(s)
0
Share(s)

SEARCH WITHIN CONTENT

FIND ARTICLE

Volume / Issue / page

Archive
Volume 81 (2021)
Volume 80 (2020)
Volume 79 (2019)
Volume 78 (2018)
Volume 77 (2017)
Volume 76 (2016)
Related articles

VOLUME 76 , ISSUE 1 (March 2016) > List of articles

Testosterone metabolism: a possible biological underpinning of non-verbal IQ in intellectually gifted girls

Jaroslava Durdiaková * / Peter Celec / Jolana Laznibatová / Gabriel Minárik / Daniela Ostatníková

Keywords : testosterone, intellectually gifted girls, androgen receptor, 2D:4D, non-verbal IQ

Citation Information : Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis. Volume 76, Issue 1, Pages 66-74, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/ane-2017-006

License : (CC BY 4.0)

Received Date : 25-August-2015 / Accepted: 11-March-2016 / Published Online: 25-July-2017

  • ARTICLE
  • FIGURES & TABLES
  • REFERENCES
  • EXTRA FILES
  • COMMENTS

ARTICLE

ABSTRACT

The extraordinary giftedness is apparently a unique manifestation of a mutual interconnection between genes and environment. One of the possible etiological factors of intellectual giftedness is testosterone which is believed to affect the brain organization and function. The aim of our study was to analyze associations between 2D:4D digit ratio (a proxy of prenatal testosterone) and/or salivary testosterone levels with non-verbal IQ in intellectually gifted girls. Fifty-one girls with an age range of 10 to18 years and IQ scores higher than 130 were tested. Saliva samples were collected to obtain levels of salivary testosterone. 2D:4D digit ratio was measured on both hands as an indicator of prenatal testosterone. IQ parameters were assessed employing standardized set of tests. The CAG repeat polymorphism in exon 1 of the androgen receptor gene was analyzed to assess the sensitivity of androgen receptor. Testing of between-subjects effects proved significant interactions between right and left 2D:4D ratio, genetic variability in androgen receptor, and also salivary testosterone
level with non-verbal IQ in gifted girls. Our results point out that the variability in parameters of androgenicity contributes to the variability of nonverbal IQ in gifted girls. However, the exact molecular mechanism of how testosterone acts on the brain and affects this cognitive domain remains still unclear.

PDF Share

Content not available PDF Share

FIGURES & TABLES

REFERENCES

  1. Auyeung B, Lombardo MV, Baron-Cohen S (2013) Prenatal and postnatal hormone effects on the human brain and cognition. Pflugers Arch 465(5): 557–571.
  2. Azurmendi A, Braza F, Sorozabal A, Garcia A, Braza P, Carreras MR, Munoz JM,Cardas J, Sanchez-Martin JR (2005) Cognitive abilities, androgen levels, and body mass index in 5-year-old children. Horm Behav 48(2): 187–195.
  3. Baron-Cohen S, Lutchmaya S, Knickmeyer R (2004) Prenatal testosterone in mind. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA.
  4. Beaton AA, Rudling N, Kissling C, Taurines R, Thome J (2011) Digit ratio (2D:4D), salivary testosterone, and handedness. Laterality 16(2): 136–155.
  5. Berenbaum SA, Bryk KK, Nowak N, Quigley CA, Moffat S (2009) Fingers as a marker of prenatal androgen exposure. Endocrinology 150(11): 5119–5124.
  6. Brosnan MJ (2006) Digit ratio and faculty membership: implications for the relationship between prenatal testosterone and academia. Br J Psychol 97(Pt 4): 455–466.
  7. Burton LA, Henninger D, Hafetz J (2005) Gender differences in relations of mental rotation, verbal fluency, and SAT scores to finger length ratios as hormonal indexes. Dev Neuropsychol 28(1): 493–505.
  8. Butovskaya ML, Vasilyev VA, Lazebny OE, Burkova VN, Kulikov AM,Mabulla A, Shibalev DV, Ryskov AP (2012) Aggression, digit ratio, and variation in the androgen receptor, serotonin transporter, and dopamine D4 receptor genes in African foragers: the Hadza. Behav Genet 42(4): 647–662.
  9. Celec P, Tretinarova D, Minarik G, Ficek A, Szemes T, Lakatosova S,Schmidtova E, Turna J, Kadasi L, Ostatnikova D (2013) Genetic polymorphisms related to testosterone metabolism in intellectually gifted boys. Plos One 8(1): e54751.
  10. Couillard C, Gagnon J, Bergeron J, Leon AS, Rao DC, Skinner JS, Wilmore JH,Despres JP, Bouchard C (2000) Contribution of body fatness and adipose tissue distribution to the age variation in plasma steroid hormone
    concentrations in men: the HERITAGE Family Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 85(3): 1026–1031.
  11. Ding D, Xu L, Menon M, Reddy GP, Barrack ER (2004) Effect of a short CAG (glutamine) repeat on human androgen receptor function. The Prostate 58(1): 23–32.
  12. Durdiakova J, Celec P, Laznibatova J, Minarik G, Lakatosova S, Kubranska A,Ostatnikova D (2015) Differences in salivary testosterone, digit ratio and empathy between intellectually gifted and control boys. Intelligence 48:
    76–84.
  13. Durdiakova J, Lakatosova S, Kubranska A, Laznibatova J, Ficek A,Ostatnikova D, Celec P (2013) Mental rotation in intellectually gifted boys is affected by the androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism.
    Neuropsychologia 51(9): 1693–1698.
  14. Filova B, Domonkos E, Borbelyova V, Babickova J, Tothova L, Ostatnikova D,Celec P, and Hodosy J. 2015. Does the non-genomic effect of testosterone on social anxiety require the presence of a classical steroid receptor? Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars) 75(4): 457–461.
  15. Fingelkurts AA, Fingelkurts AA (2002) Exploring giftedness. In: Advances in psychology research 9 (Shobov SP, Ed.). Huntington, NY: Nova Science, USA. p. 137–155.
  16. Flegr J, Hampl R, Cernochova D, Preiss M, Bicikova M, Sieger L, Priplatova L, Kankova S, Klose J (2012) The relation of cortisol and sex hormone levels to results of psychological, performance, IQ and memory tests in
    military men and women. Neuro Endocrinol Lett 33(2): 224–235.
  17. Flores-Mendoza C, Widaman K, Rindermann H, Primi R, Mansur-Alves M,Couto. Pena C (2013) Cognitive sex differences in reasoning tasks:Evidence from Brazilian samples of educational settings. Intelligence 41(1): 70–84.
  18. Geschwind N, Galaburda AM (1985) Cerebral lateralization. Biological mechanisms, associations, and pathology: III. A hypothesis and a program for research. Arch Neurol 42(7): 634–654.
  19. Goel N, Bale TL (2008) Organizational and activational effects of testosterone on masculinization of female physiological and behavioral stress responses. Endocrinology 149(12): 6399–6405.
  20. Greenland KJ, Zajac JD (2004) Kennedy’s disease: pathogenesis and clinical approaches. Intern Med J 34(5): 279–286.
  21. Grimshaw GM, Bulman-Fleming MB, Ngo C (2004) A signal-detection analysis of sex differences in the perception of emotional faces. Brain Cogn 54(3): 248–250.
  22. Haier RJ, Jung RE, Yeo RA, Head K, Alkire MT (2004) Structural brain variation and general intelligence. Neuroimage 23(1): 425–433.
  23. Haier RJ, Siegel BV, Jr., MacLachlan A, Soderling E, Lottenberg S, Buchsbaum MS (1992) Regional glucose metabolic changes after learning a complex visuospatial/motor task: a positron emission tomographic study. Brain Res 570(1–2): 134–143.
  24. Hampson E, Sankar JS (2012) Hand preference in humans is associated with testosterone levels and androgen receptor gene polymorphism. Neuropsychologia 50(8): 2018–2025.
  25. Hedges LV, Nowell A (1995) Sex differences in mental test scores, variability,and numbers of high-scoring individuals. Science 269(5220): 41–45.
  26. Kempel P, Gohlke B, Klempau J, Zinsberger P, Reuter M, Hennig J (2005)Second-to-fourth digit length, testosterone and spatial ability. Intelligence 33(3): 215–230.
  27. Lee DM, Ulubaev A, Tajar A, Pye SR, Pendleton N, Purandare N, O’Neill TW, O’Connor DB, Labrie F, Platt H et al. (2010) Endogenous hormones, androgen receptor CAG repeat length and fluid cognition in middleaged
    and older men: results from the European Male Ageing Study. European journal of endocrinology / European Federation of Endocrine Societies 162(6): 1155–1164.
  28. Lynn R, Tse-Chan PW (2003) Sex differences on the progressive matrices:some data from Hong Kong. J Biosoc Sci 35(1): 145–150.
  29. Malas MA, Dogan S, Evcil EH, Desdicioglu K (2006) Fetal development of the hand, digits and digit ratio (2D:4D). Early Hum Dev 82(7): 469–475.
  30. Manning JT (2007) The androgen receptor gene: a major modifier of speed of neuronal transmission and intelligence? Med Hypotheses 68(4): 802–804.
  31. Manning JT, Barley L, Walton J, Lewis-Jones DI, Trivers RL, Singh D, Thornhill R,Rohde P, Bereczkei T, Henzi P, Soler M, Szwed A (2000) The 2nd:4th digit ratio, sexual dimorphism, population differences, and reproductive success. evidence for sexually antagonistic genes? Evol Hum Behav 21(3):163–183.
  32. Manning JT, Fink B (2008) Digit ratio (2D:4D), dominance, reproductive success, asymmetry, and sociosexuality in the BBC Internet Study. Am J Hum Biol 20(4): 451–461.
  33. Manning JT, Robinson SJ (2003) 2nd to 4th digit ratio and a universal mean for prenatal testosterone in homosexual men. Med Hypotheses 61(2): 303–306.
  34. Manning JT, Scutt D, Wilson J, Lewis-Jones DI (1998) The ratio of 2nd to 4th digit length: a predictor of sperm numbers and concentrations of testosterone, luteinizing hormone and oestrogen. Hum Reprod 13(11): 3000–3004.
  35. Migeon BR (2007) Why females are mosaics, X-chromosome inactivation,and sex differences in disease. Gend Med 4(2): 97–105.
  36. Mitsushima D, Takase K, Takahashi T, Kimura N (2009) Activational and Organisational Effects of Gonadal Steroids on Sex-Specific Acetylcholine Release in the Dorsal Hippocampus. J Neuroendocrinol 21: 400–405.
  37. Nye JV, Androuschak G, Desierto D, Jones G, Yudkevich M (2012) 2D:4D asymmetry and gender differences in academic performance. Plos One 7(10): e46319.
  38. Ostatnikova D, Celec P, Putz Z, Hodosy J, Schmidt F, Laznibatova J, Kudela M (2007) Intelligence and salivary testosterone levels in prepubertal children. Neuropsychologia 45(7): 1378–1385.
  39. Peters M, Manning JT, Reimers S (2007) The effects of sex, sexual orientation, and digit ratio (2D:4D) on mental rotation performance. Arch Sex Behav 36(2): 251–260.
  40. Puts DA, Cardenas RA, Bailey DH, Burriss RP, Jordan CL, Breedlove SM (2010)Salivary testosterone does not predict mental rotation performance in men or women. Horm Behav 58(2): 282–289.
  41. Rajender S, Singh L, Thangaraj K (2007) Phenotypic heterogeneity of mutations in androgen receptor gene. Asian J Androl 9: 147–179.
  42. Sanders G, Bereczkei T, Csatho A, Manning J (2005) The ratio of the 2nd to 4th finger length predicts spatial ability in men but not women. Cortex 41(6): 789–795.
  43. Shangguan F, Shi J (2009) Puberty timing and fluid intelligence: a study of correlations between testosterone and intelligence in 8- to 12-year-old Chinese boys. Psychoneuroendocrinology 34(7): 983–988.
  44. Skrgatic L, Baldani DP, Cerne JZ, Ferk P, Gersak K (2012) CAG repeat polymorphism in androgen receptor gene is not directly associated with polycystic ovary syndrome but influences serum testosterone levels.
    J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 128(3–5): 107–112.
  45. Tan U (1990) Relationship of testosterone and nonverbal intelligence to hand preference and hand skill in right-handed young adults. Int J Neurosci 54(3–4): 283–290.
  46. Tan U, Akgun A, Telatar M (1993) Relationships among nonverbal intelligence, hand speed, and serum testosterone level in left-handed male subjects. Int J Neurosci 71(1–4): 21–28.
  47. Trzaskowski M, Shakeshaft NG, Plomin R (2013) Intelligence indexes generalist genes for cognitive abilities. Intelligence 41(5): 560–565.
  48. van Anders SM, Hampson E (2005) Testing the prenatal androgen hypothesis: measuring digit ratios, sexual orientation, and spatial abilities in adults. Horm Behav 47(1): 92–98.
  49. van Honk J, Schutter DJ, Bos PA, Kruijt AW, Lentjes EG, Baron-Cohen S (2011) Testosterone administration impairs cognitive empathy in women depending on second-to-fourth digit ratio. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(8): 3448–3452.
  50. Voracek M (2013) Replicability and publishing standards in digit ratio (2D:4D) research: rejoinder to van der Meij, Almela, Buunk, Dubbs, and Salvador (2013, Aggressive Behavior, 39(2), 88–89). Aggress Behav 39(2): 90.
  51. Voracek M (2014) No effects of androgen receptor gene CAG and GGC repeat polymorphisms on digit ratio (2D:4D): A comprehensive metaanalysis and critical evaluation of research. Evol Hum Behav 35(5):430–437.
  52. Voracek M, Loibl LM (2009) Scientometric analysis and bibliography of digit ratio (2D:4D) research, 1998–2008. Psychol Rep 104(3): 922–956.
  53. Westberg L, Baghaei F, Rosmond R, Hellstrand M, Landen M, Jansson M, Holm G, Bjorntorp P, Eriksson E (2001) Polymorphisms of the androgen receptor gene and the estrogen receptor beta gene are associated with androgen levels in women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86(6): 2562–2568.
  54. Winner E (2000) The origins and ends of giftedness. Am Psychol 55(1):159–169.
  55. Zheng Z, Cohn MJ (2011) Developmental basis of sexually dimorphic digit ratios. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(39): 16289–16294.

EXTRA FILES

COMMENTS