Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.
Department of Child Healthcare, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.
J Affect Disord. 2019 Sep 1;256:288-294. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.05.062. Epub 2019 May 28.
There has been a myriad of neuroimaging studies that have suggested that pubertal stages and sex steroid fluctuations contribute to pubertal brain maturation. Investigations on the influence of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis reactivation and the correlated elevated sex hormones on brain maturation have not unraveled these interactions to date. Here, we aimed to explore the impact of the reactivated HPG axis on spontaneous brain activity changes, by analyzing the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in developing girls aged 8-11 years old.
The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test was used to determine the HPG axis status and categorize subjects into two groups (HPG+ or HPG- group). Intelligence quotient (IQ) and the parent-rated Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were used to evaluate cognitive and behavioral performance. Two-sample t-tests were used to compare intergroup differences, the relations between brain areas' activities, age and hormonal levels were conducted by Pearson or Spearman correlation analyses.
Compared with the HPG- group, the HPG+ group showed decreased ALFF values in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) but increased ALFF values in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG). In addition, in the HPG+ group, prolactin (PRL) levels were positively correlated with ALFF values in the right SFG, and there was significant negative correlation between ALFF values in the left STG and CBCL activities scores.
Due to the cross-sectional design of the present study, further study is needed to determine the relationships between age, reawakening of the HPG axis and related sex hormones and spontaneous brain activity change.
These findings suggested that the reactivated HPG axis and elevated PRL level could affect changes in brain activity and this effect may be the neuroendocrine basis of mood, cognition, and social behavior changes in early pubertal girls.
有大量的神经影像学研究表明，青春期阶段和性激素波动促进了青春期大脑的成熟。目前，关于下丘脑-垂体-性腺（HPG）轴重新激活及其相关的性激素升高对大脑成熟的影响的研究尚未阐明这些相互作用。在这里，我们旨在通过分析 8-11 岁发育中女孩的低频振幅（ALFF）来探索重新激活的 HPG 轴对自发脑活动变化的影响。
使用促性腺激素释放激素（GnRH）刺激试验来确定 HPG 轴状态，并将受试者分为两组（HPG+或 HPG-组）。智商（IQ）和父母评定的儿童行为检查表（CBCL）用于评估认知和行为表现。采用两样本 t 检验比较组间差异，采用 Pearson 或 Spearman 相关分析进行脑区活动与年龄和激素水平之间的关系。
与 HPG-组相比，HPG+组的左侧颞上回（STG）的 ALFF 值降低，而右侧额上回（SFG）的 ALFF 值升高。此外，在 HPG+组中，催乳素（PRL）水平与右侧 SFG 的 ALFF 值呈正相关，而左侧 STG 的 ALFF 值与 CBCL 活动评分呈显著负相关。
由于本研究为横断面设计，因此需要进一步研究以确定年龄、HPG 轴重新激活以及相关性激素与自发脑活动变化之间的关系。
这些发现表明，重新激活的 HPG 轴和升高的 PRL 水平可能会影响大脑活动的变化，这种影响可能是青春期早期女孩情绪、认知和社会行为变化的神经内分泌基础。
