{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T13:22:31Z","timestamp":1788268951126,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004077","name":"Kocaeli University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024\/158"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024\/158"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004077","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["2024\/158"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024\/158"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0411seq30","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sci.","Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Neurocognitive functioning in transgender adults remains understudied and is predominantly derived from Western samples, often treated as universally applicable. Evidence from non-Western contexts is limited, despite the potential influence of structural stigma and minority stress on cognition and research participation. T\u00fcrkiye represents a sociopolitical setting where transgender individuals face significant barriers to healthcare and research. To date, no study has systematically examined the neuropsychological profile of transgender adults in T\u00fcrkiye using a four-group design. Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at a multidisciplinary university-based gender identity clinic. Eighty-one adults were included: transgender women (n = 14), transgender men (n = 39), cisgender women (n = 13), and cisgender men (n = 15), with cisgender groups matched for age and education. Participants completed a standardized neuropsychological battery assessing visuospatial abilities, executive functions\/processing speed, working memory, and verbal fluency. Group differences were analyzed using nonparametric methods, with additional aggregated transgender\u2013cisgender comparisons. Results: Group differences were observed in visuospatial functioning (Judgment of Line Orientation, Rey\u2013Osterrieth Complex Figure; all p \u2264 0.05) and executive control (Trail Making Test Part B, p = 0.048; B\u2013A difference, p = 0.014). Group-level differences were domain-specific: both transgender groups scored below both cisgender groups on the visuospatial measures, whereas the ordering on executive-control measures differed, and distributions overlapped substantially throughout. Processing speed, working memory, and verbal fluency did not differ significantly (p &gt; 0.05). No clear association between hormone therapy status and performance was detected in this small sample. Conclusions: The observed distributions were domain-specific and substantially overlapping, and should not be interpreted as indicating correspondence between cognitive performance and either gender identity or sex assigned at birth. Differences were domain-specific, with substantial overlap across groups. Findings support a context-sensitive, non-pathologizing interpretation emphasizing sociocultural factors rather than inherent deficits. Longitudinal and cross-cultural studies incorporating psychosocial variables are needed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci16090918","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T12:41:18Z","timestamp":1788266478000},"page":"918","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Neuropsychological Functioning in Transgender Adults: Evidence from a University-Based Gender Identity Clinic in T\u00fcrkiye"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6870-1407","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hanife","family":"Y\u0131lmaz Abayl\u0131","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Ey\u00fcpsultan State Hospital, 34050 \u0130stanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9496-991X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ezgi","family":"\u015ei\u015fman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Kocaeli City Hospital, 41060 Kocaeli, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-7183-2002","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fatma Seher","family":"Kocaayan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Sakarya Training and Research Hospital, 54100 Sakarya, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9649-8701","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Asl\u0131han","family":"Polat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41001 Kocaeli, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"American Psychiatric Association (2022). 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