The Role of Endocrine Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in the Enhancing Effects of Stress on Mental Rotation Capabilities

The possible effects of stress and neurobiological stress mechanisms on visuospatial abilities remain largely unknown. In the current study, we examined the combined effect of sex hormones and both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-A) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) on stress-induced changes in visuospatial performance. A total of 107 participants completed a mental rotation task and were subsequently exposed to either to the Trier social stress test (TSST) or to a control condition before completing the mental rotation task again. HPA-A and SNS reactivity of the participants were evaluated by measuring salivary alpha amylase (sAA; an SNS activation marker) and cortisol in four saliva samples. Pre-stress levels of sex hormones (progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone) were also measured. The TSST enhanced mental rotation performance, and this enhancement was negatively correlated with baseline estradiol levels and positively correlated with the level of cortisol reactivity among men. In addition, controlling for baseline levels of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone diminished this effect of stress. These results imply that the stress-induced facilitation of mental rotation performance is modulated by baseline sex hormones and provide preliminary support to the notion that a complex interaction between sex hormones and neuroendocrine stress mechanisms mediates the influence of stress on visuospatial performance.