Dataset Information

Affective reactivity during adolescence: Associations with age, puberty and testosterone.

ABSTRACT: Adolescence is a period of heightened social engagement that is accompanied by normative changes in neural reactivity to affective stimuli. It is also a period of concurrent endocrine and physical changes associated with puberty. A growing body of research suggests that hormonal shifts during adolescence impact brain development, but minimal research in humans has examined the relationship between intra-individual changes in puberty and brain function. The current study examines linear and nonlinear changes in affective reactivity in a longitudinal sample of 82 adolescents who underwent three fMRI sessions between the ages of 9 and 18 years. Changes in response to affective facial stimuli were related to age, pubertal stage, and testosterone levels. Using multilevel modeling, we highlight extensive nonlinear development of socio-emotional responsivity across the brain. Results include mid-pubertal peaks in amygdala and hippocampus response to fearful expressions, as well as sex differences in regions subserving social and self-evaluative processes. However, testosterone levels exhibited inverse patterns of association with neural response compared to pubertal stage in females (e.g., U-shaped relationship with the amygdala and hippocampus). Findings highlight potentially unique roles of age, pubertal stage and testosterone on socio-emotional development during adolescence, as well as sex differences in these associations.

SUBMITTER: Vijayakumar N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7057923 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Affective reactivity during adolescence: Associations with age, puberty and testosterone.

Vijayakumar Nandita N Pfeifer Jennifer H JH Flournoy John C JC Hernandez Leanna M LM Dapretto Mirella M

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior 20190517

Adolescence is a period of heightened social engagement that is accompanied by normative changes in neural reactivity to affective stimuli. It is also a period of concurrent endocrine and physical changes associated with puberty. A growing body of research suggests that hormonal shifts during adolescence impact brain development, but minimal research in humans has examined the relationship between intra-individual changes in puberty and brain function. The current study examines linear and nonli ...[more]

PMID: 31200127

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Project description:Among same-age adolescents, those who enter puberty relatively later and those who are relatively younger (e.g., born later in the year) might be at greater risk of physical activity discontinuation. This study aimed to (1) describe gender-specific discontinuation, re-engagement, and uptake rates in various types of physical activities from the age of 11 to 17 years, and (2) assess puberty timing and relative age as predictors of discontinuation from organized, unorganized, individual, and group-based physical activities. Longitudinal data from 781 (56% girls, age 10-13 years at study baseline) Canadian participants who self-reported puberty status, birthdate, and involvement in 36 physical activities every four months from 2011 to 2018 was analyzed. The incidence of discontinuation, re-engagement, and uptake in organized/unorganized and individual/group activities from grade 6 until grade 12 was described and Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate associations of puberty timing and relative age with organized/unorganized and individual/group activity discontinuation. Results demonstrate that individual and unorganized activities are maintained longer than group-based and organized activities. Girls who started puberty earlier were more likely to discontinue organized activities than girls with average-puberty timing [Hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval (CI)) 1.68 (1.05-2.69)]. Compared to boys born in the 4th quarter of the year, boys born in the 2nd quarter of the year were less likely to discontinue organized [HR (95% CI) 0.41 (0.23-0.74)], unorganized [HR (95% CI) 0.33 (0.16-0.70)], group [HR (95% CI) 0.58 (0.34-0.98)], and individual activities[HR (95% CI) 0.46 (0.23-0.91)], and boys born in the 3rd quarter were less likely to discontinue unorganized activities[HR (95% CI) 0.41 (0.19-0.88)]. This study illustrates the patterns of physical activity participation throughout adolescence. However, the generalizability of findings may be limited due to participant representation.

Project description:BackgroundAdolescence is a critical time for brain development. Findings from previous studies have been inconsistent, failing to distinguish the influence of pubertal status and aging on brain maturation. The current study sought to address these inconsistencies, addressing the trajectories of pubertal development and aging by longitudinally tracking structural brain development during adolescence.MethodsTwo cohorts of healthy children were recruited (cohort 1: 9-10 years old; cohort 2: 12-13 years old at baseline). MRI data were acquired for gray matter volume and white matter tract measures. To determine whether age, pubertal status, both or their interaction best modelled longitudinal data, we compared four multi-level linear regression models to the null model (general brain growth indexed by total segmented volume) using Bayesian model selection.ResultsData were collected at baseline (n = 116), 12 months (n = 97) and 24 months (n = 84) after baseline. Findings demonstrated that the development of most regional gray matter volume, and white matter tract measures, were best modelled by age. Interestingly, precentral and paracentral regions of the cortex, as well as the accumbens demonstrated significant preference for the pubertal status model. None of the white matter tract measures were better modelled by pubertal status.LimitationsThe major limitation of this study is the two-cohort recruitment. Although this allowed a faster coverage of the age span, a complete per person trajectory over 6 years of development (9-15 years) could not be investigated.ConclusionsComparing the impact of age and pubertal status on regional gray matter volume and white matter tract measures, we found age to best predict longitudinal changes. Further longitudinal studies investigating the differential influence of puberty status and age on brain development in more diverse samples are needed to replicate the present results and address mechanisms underlying norm-variants in brain development.

Dataset Information

Affective reactivity during adolescence: Associations with age, puberty and testosterone.

Publications

Affective reactivity during adolescence: Associations with age, puberty and testosterone.

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