Sex differences in the effects of gonadal hormones on white matter microstructure development in adolescence.
Dev Cogn Neurosci
; 42: 100773, 2020 04.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32452463
ABSTRACT
Adolescence is characterized by rapid brain development in white matter (WM) that is attributed in part to surges in gonadal hormones. To date, however, there have been few longitudinal investigations relating changes in gonadal hormones and WM development in adolescents. We acquired diffusion-weighted MRI to estimate mean fractional anisotropy (FA) from 10 WM tracts and salivary testosterone from 51 females and 29 males (ages 9-14 years) who were matched on pubertal stage and followed, on average, for 2 years. We tested whether interactions between sex and changes in testosterone levels significantly explained changes in FA. We found positive associations between changes in testosterone and changes in FA within the corpus callosum, cingulum cingulate, and corticospinal tract in females (all ps<0.05, corrected) and non-significant associations in males. We also collected salivary estradiol from females and found that increases in estradiol were associated with increases in FA in the left uncinate fasciculus (p = 0.04, uncorrected); however, this effect was no longer significant after accounting for changes in testosterone. Our findings indicate there are sex differences in how changes in testosterone relate to changes in WM microstructure of tracts that support impulse control and emotion regulation across the pubertal transition.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Encéfalo
/
Hormônios Gonadais
/
Substância Branca
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dev Cogn Neurosci
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Canadá