Sexual orientation and spatial memory

  1. Cánovas, Rosa
  2. Cimadevilla Redondo, José Manuel
Journal:
Psicothema

ISSN: 0214-9915

Year of publication: 2011

Volume: 23

Issue: 4

Pages: 752-758

Type: Article

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Abstract

Orientación sexual y memoria espacial. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la infl uencia de la orientación sexual en el aprendizaje y memoria espacial humana. Los participantes realizaron la prueba «Habitación de las Cajas». En el experimento I, una tarea de memoria de referencia, la posición de las cajas premiadas se mantuvo constante durante toda la sesión. En el experimento II, una tarea de memoria de trabajo, la posición de las cajas premiadas cambiaba de un bloque a otro. Cada bloque se componía de dos ensayos: un ensayo para la adquisición y otro para la recuperación. Los resultados del primer experimento demostraron que los hombres heterosexuales realizaron mejor la tarea que los varones homosexuales y las mujeres heterosexuales, al encontrar las cajas premiadas con mayor rapidez. Además, los participantes homosexuales cometieron más errores que los heterosexuales. El experimento II puso de manifi esto que las capacidades de memoria de trabajo no difi eren. Estos resultados sugieren que la orientación sexual se asocia con la capacidad de navegación espacial, pero sobre todo en los hombres y se limita a la memoria de referencia, que depende más de la función del sistema hipocampal.

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