Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Relationship Between Second to Fourth Digit Ratio, Spatial Cognition, and Virtual Navigation

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Studies in human and non-human animals have found that early life exposure to androgens may affect later spatial performance. Recent studies have suggested that the ratio of the second to fourth digit (2D:4D) may serve as an index of prenatal androgen exposure. Some studies have found that the 2D:4D ratio predicts adult spatial performance, although the nature of the relationship is equivocal. This study was designed to quantify the relationships between 2D:4D ratio, spatial cognition, and spatial navigation using a virtual Morris water task (vMWT) in a sample of young adult men and women (N = 140). The results replicated findings from the literature regarding sex differences in 2D:4D ratio, vMWT performance, and spatial cognition. However, 2D:4D ratio was not consistently related to spatial cognition or spatial navigation in men or women. Results were discussed within the framework of androgen influences on spatial cognition and the degree to which 2D:4D ratio serves as a marker for early life androgen exposure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Astur, R. S., Ortiz, M. L., & Sutherland, R. J. (1998). A characterization of performance by men and women in a virtual Morris Water task: A large and reliable sex difference. Behavioural Brain Research, 93, 185–190.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Astur, R. S., Tropp, J., Sava, S., Constable, R. T., & Markus, E. (2004). Sex differences and correlations in a virtual Morris water task, a virtual radial arm maze, and mental rotation. Behavioural Brain Research, 151, 103–115.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benton, A. L., & Hamsher, K. (1976). Multilingual aphasia examination. Iowa City, IA: AJA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berenbaum, S. A., Bryk, K. K., Nowak, N., Quigley, C. A., & Moffat, S. (2009). Fingers as a marker of prenatal androgen exposure. Endocrinology, 150, 5119–5124.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, W. M., Hines, M., Fane, B. A., & Breedlove, S. M. (2002). Masculinized finger length patterns in human males and females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Hormones and Behavior, 42, 380–386.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buck, J. J., Williams, R. M., Hughes, I. A., & Acerini, C. L. (2003). In utero exposure and 2nd to 4th digit length ratio—Comparisons between healthy controls and females with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Human Reproduction, 18, 976–979.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, J., Widman, D., & Saucier, D. M. (2007). Evidence for the influence of testosterone in the performance of spatial navigation in a virtual water maze in women but not in men. Hormones and Behavior, 51, 649–654.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, L. A., Henninger, D., & Hafetz, J. (2005). Gender differences in relations of mental rotation, verbal fluency, and SAT scores to finger length ratios as hormonal indexes. Developmental Neuropsychology, 28, 493–505.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clemens, L., Gladue, B., & Coniglio, L. (1978). Prenatal endogenous androgenic influences on masculine sexual behavior and genital morphology in male and female rats. Hormones and Behavior, 10, 40–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cole-Harding, S., Morstad, A., & Wilson, J. (1988). Spatial abilities in members of opposite sex twin pairs [Abstract]. Behavior Genetics, 18, 710.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collaer, M. L., & Hines, M. (1995). Human behavioral sex differences: A role for gonadal hormones during early development. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 55–107.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coluccia, E., & Louse, G. (2004). Gender differences in spatial orientation: A review. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 329–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coolican, J., & Peters, M. (2003). Sexual dimorphism in the 2D/4D ratio and its relation to mental rotation performance. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 179–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, J. L., Cheung, Y. M., & Lau, R. T. (1975). Developmental effects of neonatal sex hormones on spatial and activity skills in the white rat. Biological Psychology, 3, 213–229.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, I., Hamilton, D. A., Yeo, R. A., Brooks, W. M., & Sutherland, R. J. (2005). Virtual navigation in humans: The impact of age, sex, and hormones on place learning. Hormones and Behavior, 47, 326–335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ekstrom, R. B., French, J. W., & Harman, H. (1976). Manual for kit of factor-referenced cognitive tests. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epic Games. (2003). Unreal tournament 2003. Raleigh, NC: Epic Games Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falter, C. M., Arroyo, M., & Davis, G. J. (2006). Testosterone: Activation or organization of spatial cognition? Biological Psychology, 73, 132–140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galis, F., Ten Broek, C. M. A., Van Dongen, S., & Wijnaendts, L. C. D. (2009). Sexual dimorphism in the prenatal digit ratio (2D:4D). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 57–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gladue, B. A., Beatty, W. W., Larson, J., & Staton, R. D. (1990). Sexual orientation and spatial ability in men and women. Psychobiology, 18, 101–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimbos, T., Dawood, K., Burris, R., Zucker, K. J., & Puts, D. A. (2010). Sexual orientation and the second to fourth finger length ratio: A meta-analysis in men and women. Behavioral Neuroscience, 124, 278–287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hines, M., Fane, B. A., Pasterski, V. L., Mathews, G. A., Conway, G. S., & Brook, C. (2003). Spatial abilities following prenatal androgen abnormality: Targeting and mental rotations performance in individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 28, 1010–1026.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, J. S. (1981). How large are cognitive gender differences? American Psychologist, 36, 892–901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isgor, C., & Sengelaub, D. R. (2003). Effects of neonatal gonadal steroids on adult CA3 pyramidal neuron dendritic morphology and spatial memory in rats. Journal of Neurobiology, 55, 179–190.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jonasson, Z. (2005). Meta-analysis of sex differences in rodent models of learning and memory: A review of behavioral and biological data. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 28, 811–825.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joseph, R., Hess, S., & Birecree, E. (1978). Effects of hormone manipulations and exploration on sex differences in maze learning. Behavioral Biology, 24, 364–377.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, A. S. (1990). Assessing adolescent and adult intelligence. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koscik, T., O’Leary, D., Moser, D. J., Andreasen, N. C., & Nopoulos, P. (2009). Sex differences in parietal lobe morphology: Relationship to mental rotation performance. Brain and Cognition, 69, 451–459.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Linn, M. C., & Petersen, A. C. (1985). Emergence and characterization of gender differences in spatial abilities: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 56, 1479–1498.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lutchmaya, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Raggatt, P., Knickmeyer, R., & Manning, J. T. (2004). 2nd to 4th digit ratios, fetal testosterone and estradiol. Early Human Development, 77, 23–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maccoby, E. E., & Jacklin, C. N. (1974). Psychology of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malas, M. A., Dogan, S., Evcil, E. H., & Desdicioglu, K. (2006). Fetal development of hand, digits and digit ratio (2D:4D). Early Human Development, 82, 469–475.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malinowski, J. C., & Gillespie, W. T. (2001). Individual differences in performance on a large-scale, real-world wayfinding task. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 73–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, J. T. (2002). Digit ratio: A pointer to fertility, behavior, and health. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, J. T., Callow, M., & Bundred, P. E. (2003). Finger and toe ratios in humans and mice: Implications for the etiology of diseases influenced by HOX genes. Medical Hypotheses, 60, 340–343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, J. T., Scutt, D., Wilson, J., & Lewis-Jones, D. I. (1998). The ratio of 2nd to 4th digit length: A predictor of sperm numbers and levels of testosterone, LH and oestrogen. Human Reproduction, 13, 3000–3004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, J. T., Stewart, A., Bundred, P. E., & Trivers, R. L. (2004). Sex and ethnic differences in 2nd and 4th digit ratio of children. Early Human Development, 80, 161–168.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, J. T., & Taylor, R. P. (2001). 2nd to 4th digit ratio and male ability in sport: Implication for sexual selection in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22, 61–69.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matarazzo, J. D. (1972). Wechsler’s measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCormick, C. M., & Witelson, S. F. (1991). A cognitive profile of homosexual men compared to heterosexual men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 15, 459–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McFadden, D., & Bracht, M. S. (2009). Sex and race differences in the relative lengths of metacarpals and metatarsals in human skeletons. Early Human Development, 85, 117–124.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McFadden, D., & Shubel, E. (2002). Relative lengths of fingers and toes in human males and females. Hormones and Behavior, 42, 492–500.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Microsoft Corporation. (2002). Sidewinder joystick. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moffat, S. D., Hampson, E., & Hatzipantelis, M. (1998). Navigation in a “virtual” maze: Sex differences and correlation with psychometric measures of spatial ability in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 19, 73–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Money, J., Alexander, D., & Walker, H. T. (1965). A standardized road-map test of direction sense. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, R. G. M. (1984). Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial learning in the rat. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 11, 47–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, S. C., Jackson, C. P. T., & Skelton, R. W. (2008). Sex differences in a virtual water maze: An eye tracking and pupillometry study. Behavioural Brain Research, 193, 209–215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neave, N., Menaged, M., & Weightman, D. R. (1999). Sex differences in cognition: The role of testosterone and sexual orientation. Brain and Cognition, 41, 245–262.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Okten, A., Kalyoncu, M., & Yaris, N. (2002). The ratio of second and fourth digit lengths and congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Early Human Development, 70, 47–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, M., Manning, J. T., & Reimers, S. (2007). The effects of sex, sexual orientation, and digit ratio (2D:4D) on mental rotation performance. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 251–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Puts, D. A., Gaulin, S. J., Sporter, R. J., & McBurney, D. H. (2004). Sex hormones and finger length. What does 2D:4D indicate? Evolution and Human Behavior, 25, 182–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puts, D. A., McDaniel, M. A., Jordan, C. L., & Breedlove, S. M. (2008). Spatial ability and prenatal androgens: Meta-analyses of congenital adrenal hyperplasia and digit ratio (2D:4D) studies. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 100–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quigley, C. A., De Bellis, A., Marschke, K. B., El-Awady, M. K., Wilson, E. M., & French, F. S. (1995). AR defects: Historical, clinical, and molecular perspectives. Endocrine Reviews, 16, 271–321.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, Q., Andersson, D., & Govier, E. (2005). A specific sexual orientation-related difference in navigation strategy. Behavioral Neuroscience, 119, 311–316.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, Q., & Koerting, J. (2008). Sexual orientation-related differences in allocentric spatial memory tasks. Hippocampus, 18, 55–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, Q., & Wilson, G. D. (2003). Large sexual orientation related differences in performance on mental rotation and judgment of line orientation. Neuropsychology, 17, 25–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, Q., Wilson, G. D., & Abrahams, S. (2003). Sexual orientation related differences in spatial memory. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 376–383.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, S. M., Berenbaum, S. A., Gottesman, I. I., & Bouchard, T. J. (1986). Early hormonal influences on cognitive functioning in congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Developmental Psychology, 22, 191–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roof, R. L. (1993). Neonatal exogenous testosterone modifies sex differences in radial arm and Morris water maze performance in prepubescent and adult rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 53, 1–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roof, R. L., & Havens, M. D. (1992). Testosterone improves maze performance and induces development of a male hippocampus in females. Brain Research, 572, 310–313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, G., Bereczkei, T., Csatho, A., & Manning, J. T. (2005). The ratio of the 2nd to 4th finger length predicts spatial ability in men but not women. Cortex, 41, 789–795.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, G., & Ross-Field, L. (1986). Sexual orientation and visuo-spatial ability. Brain and Cognition, 5, 280–290.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sandstrom, N. J., Kaufman, J., & Huettel, S. (1998). Males and females use different distal cues in a virtual environment navigation task. Cognitive Brain Research, 6, 351–360.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smail, P. J., Reyes, F. I., Winter, J. S. D., & Faiman, C. (1981). The fetal hormone environment and its effect on the morphogenesis of the genital system. In S. J. Kogan & E. S. E. Hafez (Eds.), Pediatric andrology (pp. 9–20). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Speiser, P. W., & White, P. C. (2003). Congenital adrenal hyperplasia. New England Journal of Medicine, 349, 776–788.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, J., Skvarenina, A., & Pottier, J. (1975). Effects of neonatal androgens on open-field behavior and maze learning in the prepubescent and adult rat. Physiology & Behavior, 14, 291–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, M. T., Miranda, R. A., & Travers, M. L. (2008). Sex differences in the neurocognition of language. In J. B. Becker, K. J. Berkley, N. Geary, E. Hampson, J. P. Herman, & E. A. Young (Eds.), Sex differences in the brain: From genes to behavior (pp. 291–309). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Anders, S. M., & Hampson, E. (2005). Testing the prenatal androgen hypothesis: Measuring digit ratios, sexual orientation, and spatial abilities in adults. Hormones and Behavior, 47, 92–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Anders, S. M., Vernon, P. A., & Wilbur, C. J. (2006). Finger-length rations show evidence of prenatal hormone-transfer between opposite-sex twins. Hormones and Behavior, 49, 315–319.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenberg, S. G., & Kuse, A. R. (1978). Mental rotations, a group test of three-dimensional spatial visualization. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 47, 599–604.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Voyer, D., Voyer, S., & Bryden, M. (1995). Magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities: A meta-analysis and consideration of critical variables. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 250–270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wegesin, D. J. (1998). A neuropsychologic profile of homosexual and heterosexual men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27, 91–108.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. L., Barnett, A. M., & Meck, W. H. (1990). Organizational effects of early gonadal secretions on sexual differentiation in spatial memory. Behavioral Neuroscience, 104, 84–97.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Nicole T. Nowak & Scott D. Moffat

  2. Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, 87 East Ferry St., Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Scott D. Moffat

Authors
  1. Nicole T. Nowak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Scott D. Moffat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott D. Moffat.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nowak, N.T., Moffat, S.D. The Relationship Between Second to Fourth Digit Ratio, Spatial Cognition, and Virtual Navigation. Arch Sex Behav 40, 575–585 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9668-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9668-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation