SPATIAL REASONING IN CHILDREN WITH CONGENITAL ADRENAL-HYPERPLASIA DUETO 21-HYDROXYLASE DEFICIENCY

It has been proposed that exposure of the central nervous system to hi gh concentrations of androgens during sensitive periods in early devel opment may facilitate the ability to process spatial information. Most tests of this proposal have been derived from nonhuman species. To te st this hypothesis in humans, we evaluated spatial reasoning in preado lescent children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a conditio n characterized by elevated androgens during gestation. The Primary Me ntal Abilities (PMA) Spatial Relations test was administered to 12 chi ldren with CAH (7 girls, 5 boys) and 10 unaffected sibling controls (6 girls, 4 boys), ranging in age from 8 to 12 years. Results showed a s ignificant interaction between sex and clinical status. Girls with CAH achieved significantly higher spatial scores than control girls, wher eas boys with CAH showed significantly lower spatial scores than contr ol boys. On the PMA Perceptual Speed test, given for comparison, girls with CAH scored significantly lower than control girls, producing a d ouble dissociation. The results demonstrate that group differences in spatial proficiency can be detected in preadolescent children with CAH . The findings replicate and extend results reported previously by Res nick, Berenbaum, Gottesman, and Bouchard (1986), and are consistent wi th an organizing effect of early androgens on brain areas subserving s patial processes.