Neuroscience Program, SRI International, United States.
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, United States.
Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2023 Apr;60:101214. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101214. Epub 2023 Feb 10.
Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood, is characterized by rapid brain development in white matter (WM) that is attributed in part to rising levels in adrenal and gonadal hormones. The extent to which pubertal hormones and related neuroendocrine processes explain sex differences in WM during this period is unclear. In this systematic review, we sought to examine whether there are consistent associations between hormonal changes and morphological and microstructural properties of WM across species and whether these effects are sex-specific. We identified 90 (75 human, 15 non-human) studies that met inclusion criteria for our analyses. While studies in human adolescents show notable heterogeneity, results broadly demonstrate that increases in gonadal hormones across pubertal development are associated with macro- and microstructural changes in WM tracts that are consistent with the sex differences found in non-human animals, particularly in the corpus callosum. We discuss limitations of the current state of the science and recommend important future directions for investigators in the field to consider in order to advance our understanding of the neuroscience of puberty and to promote forward and backward translation across model organisms.
青春期是儿童期向成年期的过渡阶段，其特点是大脑白质（WM）的快速发育，部分原因是肾上腺和性腺激素水平的升高。青春期激素及其相关神经内分泌过程在多大程度上解释了这一时期 WM 上的性别差异尚不清楚。在本系统评价中，我们试图研究在不同物种中，激素变化与 WM 的形态和微观结构特性之间是否存在一致的关联，以及这些影响是否具有性别特异性。我们确定了 90 项（75 项人类，15 项非人类）符合我们分析标准的研究。虽然人类青少年的研究显示出明显的异质性，但结果广泛表明，青春期发育过程中性腺激素的增加与 WM 束的宏观和微观结构变化有关，这与非人类动物中发现的性别差异一致，特别是在胼胝体上。我们讨论了当前科学状况的局限性，并为该领域的研究人员推荐了重要的未来方向，以促进我们对青春期神经科学的理解，并促进模型生物的前后翻译。
