The relationship between testosterone and social cognition in younger and older adults

Abstract

Testosterone (T) has been linked to poorer social cognition in younger adults. Because social cognition and T both decline with normal aging, a different type of relationship may exist between T and social cognition in late adulthood. To test this possibility, younger and older adults provided a salivary T sample and completed two social cognition tasks. The results showed that age-group was a significant moderator in the relationship between T and theory of mind (ToM) performance for males, such that T was a negative predictor of ToM in younger males and a positive predictor of ToM in older age. No relationships were identified for females. These findings show for the first time that T is differentially related to ToM in the early and later stages of the male adult lifespan, and are discussed in relation to prior work that suggests T may have neuroprotective effects in older age.