Neuropsychological functioning in girls with premature adrenarche.
J Int Neuropsychol Soc
; 18(1): 151-6, 2012 Jan.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22114879
ABSTRACT
Contemporary research indicates that brain development occurs during childhood and into early adulthood, particularly in certain regions. A critical question is whether premature or atypical hormone exposures impact brain development (e.g., structure) or function (e.g., neuropsychological functioning). The current study enrolled 40 girls (aged 6-8 years) diagnosed with premature adrenarche (PA) and a comparison group of 36 girls with on-time maturation. It was hypothesized that girls with PA would demonstrate lower IQ and performance on several neuropsychological tasks. The potential for a sexually dimorphic neuropsychological profile in PA was also explored. No significant univariate or multivariate group differences emerged for any neuropsychological instrument. However, effect size confidence intervals contained medium-sized group differences at the subscale level. On-time girls performed better on verbal, working memory, and visuospatial tasks. Girls with PA showed improved attention, but not a sexually dimorphic profile. These results, though preliminary, suggest that premature maturation may influence neuropsychological functioning.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Puberty, Precocious
/
Developmental Disabilities
/
Cognition Disorders
/
Adrenarche
/
Neuropsychological Tests
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Int Neuropsychol Soc
Journal subject:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOLOGIA
Year:
2012
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Estados Unidos