Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 53211, USA.
Am J Hum Biol. 2011 Jan-Feb;23(1):44-52. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.21111.
To addresses the hypothesis that human adrenarche is associated with extended juvenile brain development by comparing the timing of adrenal androgen production, brain development and lactation in a larger comparative mammalian context.
Findings from published literature are used to compare the developmental timing of adrenal androgens, brain glucose utilization and lactation in rats, rhesus macaques and humans.
Comparison of the timing of androstenedione and progesterone production with developmental patterns of cortical glucose utilization and the timing of lactation in laboratory rats suggest that the rise and fall of adrenal hormone production centered on weaning plays a role in synaptogenesis during lactation as well as post weaning synaptic pruning. Comparison of the timing of cortical glucose utilization, DHEAS production and weaning in rhesus macaques also suggests that postnatally elevated levels of DHEAS may be related to patterns of synaptic formation and pruning centered on weaning. In contrast among humans, peak cortical glucose utilization occurs well after weaning and the rise in adrenal androgen production coincides with declining cortical glucose utilization with the onset of the juvenile stage.
Compared to rats and macaque, in humans the energetic demands of brain development and increased production of adrenal androgens are divorced from the timing of lactation, while the timing of adrenarche and brain development are still associated. Thus the neuroprotective effects of DHEAS may protect synaptic plasticity in metabolically active parts of the brain starting approximately at the age of 7, promoting prolonged development of the human prefrontal cortex.
通过在更大的哺乳动物比较背景下比较肾上腺雄激素产生、大脑发育和哺乳的时间，来验证人类肾上腺功能亢进与延长的青少年大脑发育有关的假说。
利用已发表文献中的研究结果，比较大鼠、恒河猴和人类的肾上腺雄激素、大脑葡萄糖利用率和哺乳的发育时间。
将雄烯二酮和孕酮的产生时间与皮质葡萄糖利用率的发育模式以及实验室大鼠哺乳的时间进行比较，表明以断奶为中心的肾上腺激素产生的上升和下降在哺乳期的突触发生以及断奶后的突触修剪中发挥作用。比较恒河猴皮质葡萄糖利用率、DHEAS 产生和断奶的时间也表明，出生后 DHEAS 水平升高可能与以断奶为中心的突触形成和修剪模式有关。相比之下，在人类中，皮质葡萄糖利用率的峰值出现在断奶后很久，而肾上腺雄激素产生的增加与青春期开始时皮质葡萄糖利用率的下降相吻合。
与大鼠和恒河猴相比，在人类中，大脑发育的能量需求和肾上腺雄激素的产生与哺乳时间无关，而肾上腺功能亢进和大脑发育的时间仍然相关。因此，DHEAS 的神经保护作用可能会保护大脑代谢活跃区域的突触可塑性，大约从 7 岁开始，从而促进人类前额叶皮层的长期发育。
