Handedness, Functional Cerebral Hemispheric Lateralization, and Cognition in Male-to-Female Transsexuals Receiving Cross-Sex Hormone Treatment

Authors: Wisniewski, Amy¹; Prendeville, Mary²; Dobs, Adrian³

Source: Archives of Sexual Behavior, Volume 34, Number 2, April 2005 , pp. 167-172(6)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

This study examined the impact of sex hormones on functional cerebral hemispheric lateralization and cognition in a group of male-to-female transsexuals receiving cross-sex hormone therapy compared to eugonadal men with a male gender identity. Cerebral lateralization was measured with a handedness questionnaire and a visual-split-field paradigm and cognitive tests sensitive to sex hormone exposure (identical pictures, 3-D mental rotation, building memory) were also administered. Endocrine measures on the day of participation for transsexual and control subjects included total testosterone, free testosterone, estradiol, gonadotropins, and sex hormone binding globulin concentrations. Compared to controls, male-to-female transsexuals had elevated estradiol and sex hormone binding globulin concentrations and suppressed testosterone concentrations. Transsexual subjects showed a trend toward less exclusive right-handedness than controls. No group differences were observed on the visual-split-field or cognitive tasks. No direct associations were observed between endocrine measures and the laterality measures and cognitive performance. Previous observations of female-typical patterns in cerebral lateralization and cognitive performance in male-to-female transsexuals were not found in the current study.

Keywords: transsexualism; gender identity disorder; estrogen; testosterone; memory; perception

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-005-1794-x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, Email: amy.wisniewski@drake.edu 2: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 3: Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland,

Publication date: 2005-04-01

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