RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Does testosterone impair men’s cognitive empathy? Evidence from two large-scale randomized controlled trials
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 516344
DO 10.1101/516344
A1 Amos Nadler
A1 Colin F. Camerer
A1 David T. Zava
A1 Triana L. Ortiz
A1 Neil V. Watson
A1 Justin M. Carré
A1 Gideon Nave
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/08/12/516344.abstract
AB The capacity to infer others’ mental states (known as “mind reading” and “cognitive empathy”) is essential for social interactions across species, and its impairment characterizes psychopathological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Previous studies reported that testosterone administration impaired cognitive empathy in healthy humans, and that a putative biomarker of prenatal testosterone exposure (finger digit ratios) moderated the effect. However, empirical support for the relationship has relied on small-sample studies with mixed evidence. We investigate the reliability and generalizability of the relationship in two large-scale double-blind placebo-controlled experiments in young men (N=243 and N=400), using two different testosterone administration protocols. We find no evidence that cognitive empathy is impaired by testosterone administration or associated with digit ratios. With an unprecedented combined sample size, these results counter current theories and previous high-profile reports, and demonstrate that previous investigations of this topic have been statistically underpowered.