The influence of puberty on subcortical brain development

Age and body mass index are associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation in response to unhealthy food cues

Unhealthy food cues are omnipresent and promote overconsumption. Although childhood obesity rates are increasing, there is no strict regulation of the marketing of unhealthy foods towards children. This is problematic since the human brain, especially areas important for cognitive control, continues to develop into the 30s. It is not known in how far the brain response to unhealthy food cues varies with body mass index (BMI) and age. To investigate this, 168 children (10-17 y) and 182 adults (30-67 y) from the European IDEFICS cohort were scanned with the use of fMRI while viewing pictures of healthy and unhealthy foods. Children exhibited lower activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) compared to adults when exposed to unhealthy food cues. Across all age groups, individuals with higher BMI demonstrated reduced activation in the middle cingulum in response to unhealthy food stimuli. Lastly, the relation between BMI and brain activation in response to unhealthy compared with healthy food stimuli varied with development: in children, higher BMI was correlated with decreased activation in right anterior insula and right dlPFC, whereas no such relationship was observed in adults. These findings suggest that children with higher BMI may be particularly vulnerable to unhealthy food cues. In this light, the lack of regulation regarding unhealthy food marketing targeted at children is concerning, especially considering the global increase in obesity rates.

Sex-dependent gene expression during puberty has potential mechanistic implications for the development of major depressive disorder

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a complex illness with heterogeneous symptom profiles, affecting 5% of the global population. Recent molecular studies across biological systems suggest that the manifestations of MDD are significantly shaped by sex. In response, this narrative review organizes up-to-date findings on sex-specific, MDD-related gene expression into multiple biological systems-primarily available from adult human and rodent studies. This adult-centric focus highlights a critical gap: when and how sex-dependent, MDD-associated gene expression patterns emerge, and contribute to adult manifestations. We identify puberty as a sensitive developmental window during which sex-dependent gene expression and regulatory patterns may emerge and carry their impacts into adulthood. We define this as a sex-specific framework established during puberty. To address the "how," we synthesize empirical evidence on the molecular mechanisms associated with the emergence and long-term influence of this framework. Finally, we explore how perturbations acting on this framework may further bifurcate expression patterns and ultimately give rise to the sex-divergent manifestations of MDD observed in adulthood. Overall, this review positions puberty as a key developmental window and calls for future sex-stratified functional genomic studies that span the pubertal timeline.

Disentangling the role of different resting-state neural markers of adolescent behavioral inhibition and social anxiety

One of the most reliable predictors of adolescent social anxiety is the temperamental profile of behavioral inhibition (BI), but there is considerable heterogeneity in this association. Resting-state EEG-based neural markers, namely frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta coupling (DBC), hold promise for improving our understanding of the relation between BI and social anxiety symptoms during adolescence. The current study aimed to (1) clarify the relation between these neural markers, BI, and social anxiety and (2) examine the moderating role, individually, of frontal alpha asymmetry and DBC on the BI-social anxiety link. Participants were 97 adolescents (Mage = 14.29 years, SDage = .98; 84.4 % White, 3.1 % Black, 12.5 % multiracial; 54.6 % female) and their parents. Parents reported on adolescent BI and adolescents self-reported social anxiety symptoms. Additionally, adolescents provided EEG data across a 6-minute resting task, from which measures of frontal alpha asymmetry and DBC were derived. Results indicated that stronger DBC was directly associated with higher social anxiety symptoms, but not BI, and did not moderate the association between BI and social anxiety. In contrast, frontal alpha asymmetry was not directly associated with either BI or social anxiety but interacted with BI to predict avoidance and distress to social situations, such that greater relative right activation predicted a stronger BI-social anxiety link. However, this effect did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Findings suggest that high DBC may mark a general vulnerability for social anxiety symptoms, whereas frontal alpha asymmetry may potentiate the risk for social anxiety symptoms specifically among BI youth.

Characterizing the effects of age, puberty, and sex on variability in resting-state functional connectivity in late childhood and early adolescence

Understanding the relative influences of age, pubertal development, and sex assigned at birth on brain development is a key priority of developmental neuroscience given the complex interplay of these factors in the onset of psychopathology. Previous research has investigated how these factors relate to static (time-averaged) functional connectivity (FC), but little is known about their relationship with dynamic (time-varying) FC. The present study aimed to investigate the unique and overlapping roles of these factors on dynamic FC in children aged approximately 9 to 14 in the ABCD Study using a sample of 5122 low-motion resting-state scans (from 4136 unique participants). Time-varying correlations in the frontolimbic, default mode, and dorsal and ventral corticostriatal networks, estimated using the Dynamic Conditional Correlations (DCC) method, were used to calculate variability of within- and between-network connectivity and of graph theoretical measures of segregation and integration. We found decreased variability in global efficiency across the age range, and increased variability within the frontolimbic network driven primarily by those assigned female at birth (AFAB). AFAB youth specifically also showed increased variability in several other networks. Controlling for age, both advanced pubertal development and being AFAB were associated with decreased variability in all within- and between-network correlations and increased variability in measures of network segregation. These results potentially suggest advanced brain maturation in AFAB youth, particularly in key networks related to psychopathology, and lay the foundation for future investigations of dynamic FC.

Sex differences in maturational timing of amygdala and prefrontal cortex volumes and white matter tract microstructure

The developmental mismatch hypothesis (DMH) proposes that a mismatch in maturational timing of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) drives adolescent sensation-seeking behaviour. While some studies provide support for the DMH, few have evaluated sex differences or examined both grey and white matter. Here, we used T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine amygdala and PFC macrostructure and amygdala-PFC white matter microstructure development across 606 MRI sessions from 148 typically developing children and adolescents (76 females) aged 1.95-17.71 years. Using generalized additive mixed effects models, we evaluated the maturational timing of amygdala volume, four PFC subregion volumes, and fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity of the uncinate fasciculus and amygdala-PFC white matter tracts. Amygdala and PFC maturation was consistent with the DMH in males but less so in females. Relative to males, females exhibited less amygdala development and shorter periods of PFC development. In contrast to gray matter volumes, white matter changed continuously from early childhood to late adolescence, but ended earlier in females than in males. Our findings show different amygdala-PFC maturation patterns and that the amygdala-PFC neural system reaches maturity earlier in females than in males. These important differences may underlie sex differences in sensation-seeking behaviour.

Dev-Atlas: A reference atlas of functional brain networks for typically developing adolescents

It is well accepted that the brain is functionally organized into multiple networks and extensive literature has demonstrated that the organization of these networks shows major changes during adolescence. Yet, there is limited option for a reference functional brain atlas derived from typically-developing adolescents, which is problematic as the reliable identification of functional brain networks crucially depends on the use of such reference functional atlases. In this context, we utilized resting-state functional MRI data from 1391 typically-developing youth aged 8-17 years to create an adolescent-specific reference atlas of functional brain networks. We further investigated the impact of age and sex on these networks. Using a multiscale individual component clustering algorithm, we identified 24 reliable functional brain networks, classified within six domains: Default-Mode (5 networks), Control (4 networks), Salience (3 networks), Attention (4 networks), Somatomotor (5 networks), and Visual (3 networks). We identified reliable and large effects of age on the spatial topography of these majority of networks, as well as on the functional network connectivity. Sex effects were not as widespread. We created a novel brain atlas, named Dev-Atlas, focused on a typically-developing sample, with the hope that this atlas can be used in future developmental neuroscience studies.

Probing Puberty as a Source of Developmental Change in Neural Response to Emotional Faces in Early Adolescence

Pubertal development is theorized to shape the brain's response to socio-emotional information in the environment. Large-scale longitudinal studies, such as the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, provide the opportunity to examine the association between pubertal maturation and within-person changes in neural activation to emotional stimuli over time. Leveraging ABCD data (n = 9648), the current study examines the coupling between parent-reported pubertal development and changes in youth's brain response to emotional faces in an emotional n-back task (during functional magnetic resonance imaging) across two timepoints (2 years apart). Bivariate latent change score models were fit to regions of interest canonically involved in face processing (fusiform), emotional/motivational salience (amygdala, nucleus accumbens, orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]), and social cognition (temporoparietal junction [TPJ]) to determine the associations between baseline pubertal status and neural response, and rate of change in either variable across time. Results point to both concurrent and longitudinal associations between pubertal maturation and neural activation to emotional faces in regions involved in processing emotional and social information (amygdala, TPJ, accumbens, OFC) but not basic facial processing (fusiform). These findings highlight pubertal maturation as a potential mechanism for change in neural response to emotional information during the transition from childhood to adolescence.

Emotional and behavioral problems accelerate hypothalamic development from childhood to adolescence: Findings from a longitudinal cohort study

BACKGROUND

Despite the pivotal role of the hypothalamus in regulating various physiological processes, our understanding of its developmental trajectory and subregional organization during childhood and adolescence remains limited, as well as how emotional and behavioral problems can impact hypothalamic development, potentially leading to neurodevelopmental disorders.

METHODS

This population-based longitudinal cohort study utilized data from a representative sample of 702 children, who were followed two to five times. Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Linear mixed models were employed to delineate developmental trajectories and behavioral regulation.

RESULTS

Using an automated segmentation technique, we quantified the volumes and asymmetries of the hypothalamus and its subregions in a large longitudinal sample of 702 subjects aged 6-15 years with 1371 MRI scans, and mapped their developmental trajectories. Our findings indicate that while the anterior and posterior regions of the hypothalamus exhibit a tendency toward decline, the tubular region demonstrates a linear increase which is influenced by lateralization, sex, and intracranial volume. Furthermore, emotional and behavioral problems - particularly emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems - accelerate development in superior tubular and anterior-superior regions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we initially delineated the developmental trajectories of the hypothalamus and its subregions from childhood to adolescence based on a longitudinal cohort study. Our findings revealed that the development of hypothalamus followed the pattern of "lateral early to medial late, and dorsomedial early to ventromedial late", and the emotional and behavioral problems accelerate hypothalamic development. This study provides preliminary evidence regarding the impact of emotional and behavioral problems on the dynamic development of the hypothalamus, offering a crucial foundation for future prevention and intervention strategies targeting cognitive and emotional behavioral problems.

Effects of early maternal care on anxiety and threat learning in adolescent nonhuman primates

Early life adverse experiences, including childhood maltreatment, are major risk factors for psychopathology, including anxiety disorders with dysregulated fear responses. Consistent with human studies, maltreatment by the mother (MALT) leads to increased emotional reactivity in rhesus monkey infants. Whether this persists and results in altered emotion regulation, due to enhanced fear learning or impaired utilization of safety signals as shown in human stress-related disorders, is unclear. Here we used a rhesus model of MALT to examine long-term effects on state anxiety and threat/safety learning in 25 adolescents, using a fear conditioning paradigm (AX+/BX-) with acoustic startle amplitude as the peripheral measure. The AX+/BX- paradigm measures baseline startle, fear-potentiated startle, threat/safety cue discrimination, startle attenuation by safety signals, and extinction. Baseline startle was higher in MALT animals, suggesting elevated state anxiety. No differences in threat learning, or threat/safety discrimination were detected. However, MALT animals showed generalized blunted responses to the conditioned threat cue, regardless of the safety cue presence in the transfer test, and took longer to extinguish spontaneously recovered threat. These findings suggest adverse caregiving experiences have long-term impacts on adolescent emotion regulation, including elevated state anxiety and blunted fear conditioning responses, consistent with reports in children with maltreatment exposure.

Microglia Morphology in the Developing Primate Amygdala and Effects of Early Life Stress

A unique pool of immature glutamatergic neurons in the primate amygdala, known as the paralaminar nucleus (PL), are maturing between infancy and adolescence. The PL is a potential substrate for the steep growth curve of amygdala volume during this developmental period. A microglial component is also embedded among the PL neurons and likely supports local neuronal maturation and emerging synaptogenesis. Microglia may alter neuronal growth following environmental perturbations such as stress. Using multiple measures in rhesus macaques, we found that microglia in the infant primate PL had relatively large somas and a small arbor size. In contrast, microglia in the adolescent PL had a smaller soma and a larger dendritic arbor. We then examined microglial morphology in the PL after a novel maternal separation protocol, to examine the effects of early life stress. After maternal separation, the microglia had increased soma size, arbor size, and complexity. Surprisingly, strong effects were seen not only in the infant PL, but also in the adolescent PL from subjects who had experienced the separation many years earlier. We conclude that under normal maternal-rearing conditions, PL microglia morphology tracks PL neuronal growth, progressing to a more "mature" phenotype by adolescence. Maternal separation has long-lasting effects on microglia, altering their normal developmental trajectory, and resulting in a "hyper-ramified" phenotype that persists for years. We speculate that these changes have consequences for neuronal development in young primates.

Multimodal neural correlates of childhood psychopathology

Complex structural and functional changes occurring in typical and atypical development necessitate multidimensional approaches to better understand the risk of developing psychopathology. Here, we simultaneously examined structural and functional brain network patterns in relation to dimensions of psychopathology in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) dataset. Several components were identified, recapitulating the psychopathology hierarchy, with the general psychopathology (p) factor explaining most covariance with multimodal imaging features, while the internalizing, externalizing, and neurodevelopmental dimensions were each associated with distinct morphological and functional connectivity signatures. Connectivity signatures associated with the p factor and neurodevelopmental dimensions followed the sensory-to-transmodal axis of cortical organization, which is related to the emergence of complex cognition and risk for psychopathology. Results were consistent in two separate data subsamples and robust to variations in analytical parameters. Although model parameters yielded statistically significant brain-behavior associations in unseen data, generalizability of the model was rather limited for all three latent components (r change from within- to out-of-sample statistics: LC1within = 0.36, LC1out = 0.03; LC2within = 0.34, LC2out = 0.05; LC3within = 0.35, LC3out = 0.07). Our findings help in better understanding biological mechanisms underpinning dimensions of psychopathology, and could provide brain-based vulnerability markers.

Development of Self-Concept in Childhood and Adolescence: How Neuroscience Can Inform Theory and Vice Versa

How do we develop a stable and coherent self-concept in contemporary times? Susan Harter's original work, The Construction of Self (1999; 2012), argues that cognitive and social processes are building blocks for developing a coherent sense of self, resulting in self-concept clarity across various domains in life (e.g., [pro-]social, academic, and physical). Here, we show how this framework guides and can benefit from recent findings on (1) the prolonged and nonlinear structural brain development during childhood and adolescence, (2) insights from developmental neuroimaging studies using self-concept appraisal paradigms, (3) genetic and environmental influences on behavioral and neural correlates of self-concept development, and (4) youth's perspectives on self-concept development in the context of 21st century global challenges. We examine how neuroscience can inform theory by testing several compelling questions related to stability versus change of neural, behavioral, and self-report measures and we reflect on the meaning of variability and change/growth.

Disentangling the unique contributions of age, pubertal stage, and pubertal hormones to brain structure in childhood and adolescence

Puberty and associated changes in pubertal hormones influence structural brain development. Hormones such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and progesterone remain understudied, and it remains unclear how these aspects of puberty contribute uniquely to structural brain development. We used the Human Connectome Project in Development cross-sectional sample of 1304 youth (aged 5-21 years) to investigate unique contributions of sex, age, pubertal stage, DHEA, testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone to cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume development within functionally-relevant networks. Sex and age explain the most unique variance in all three aspects of structural development. Pubertal stage and pubertal hormones uniquely contribute more to cortical surface area, compared to thickness. Among the pubertal hormones, progesterone contributed unique variance to surface area in the default mode network, as well as to thickness in the orbito-affective network. Pubertal mechanisms also contributed unique variance to subcortical volumes. This demonstrates unique relations of understudied pubertal hormones to brain structure development and may help understand risk for psychopathology.

Early childhood family threat and longitudinal amygdala-mPFC circuit development: Examining cortical thickness and gray matter-white matter contrast

Early threat-associated cortical thinning may be interpreted as accelerated cortical development. However, non-adaptive processes may show similar macrostructural changes. Examining cortical thickness (CT) together with grey/white-matter contrast (GWC), a proxy for intracortical myelination, may enhance the interpretation of CT findings. In this prospective study, we examined associations between early life family-related threat (harsh parenting, family conflict, and neighborhood safety) and CT and GWC development from late childhood to middle adolescence. MRI was acquired from 4200 children (2069 boys) from the Generation R study at ages 8, 10 and 14 years (in total 6114 scans), of whom 1697 children had >1 scans. Linear mixed effect models were used to examine family factor-by-age interactions on amygdala volume, caudal and rostral anterior cingulate (ACC) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) CT and GWC. A neighborhood safety-by-age-interaction was found for rostral ACC GWC, suggesting less developmental change in children from unsafe neighborhoods. Moreover, after more stringent correction for motion, family conflict was associated with greater developmental change in CT but less developmental change in GWC. Results suggest that early threat may blunt ACC GWC development. Our results, therefore, do not provide evidence for accelerated threat-associated structural development of the amygdala-mPFC circuit between ages 8-14 years.

Hippocampal gray matter volume in young adulthood varies with adolescent alcohol use

Adolescent substance use is linked with negative future outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use disorder). Given that the brain undergoes significant maturation during adolescence, this developmental period may represent a time of particular vulnerability to substance use. Neuroimaging research has largely focused on heavy or binge patterns of substance use; thus, relatively less is known about the neural impact of a broader range of adolescent substance use. Characterizing the neural impact of a broader range of adolescent substance use may inform prevention and treatment efforts. The present study investigated relationships between adolescent substance use trajectories (i.e., alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis) and gray matter volume in young adulthood. Substance use was assessed in 1,594 participants at ages 11, 13, 16, and 19. Following the last assessment, 320 participants completed a single magnetic resonance imaging session to assess brain gray matter volume. Latent growth curve models were used to estimate growth parameters characterizing alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use trajectories for each participant. These growth parameters (i.e., intercept, linear slope, and quadratic slope) were then used as predictors of gray matter volume. The gray matter volume of the hippocampus was positively associated with age 14 alcohol use (i.e., intercept) but not other trajectories (i.e., progression or acceleration) or substances (tobacco or cannabis). These results provide new insight into the neural impact of distinct adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use trajectories, which may help to refine prevention and treatment efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Subcortical volume in middle-aged adults with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Studies of youth and young adults with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) have most consistently reported reduced volumes of the corpus callosum, cerebellum and subcortical structures. However, it is unknown whether this continues into middle adulthood or if individuals with PAE may experience premature volumetric decline with aging. Forty-eight individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and 28 healthy comparison participants aged 30 to 65 participated in a 3T MRI session that resulted in usable T1-weighted and T2-weighted structural images. Primary analyses included volumetric measurements of the caudate, putamen, pallidum, cerebellum and corpus callosum using FreeSurfer software. Analyses were conducted examining both raw volumetric measurements and subcortical volumes adjusted for overall intracranial volume (ICV). Models tested for main effects of age, sex and group, as well as interactions of group with age and group with sex. We found the main effects for group; all regions were significantly smaller in participants with FASD for models using raw volumes (P's < 0.001) as well as for models using volumes adjusted for ICV (P's < 0.046). Although there were no significant interactions of group with age, females with FASD had smaller corpus callosum volumes relative to both healthy comparison females and males with FASD (P's < 0.001). As seen in children and adolescents, adults aged 30 to 65 with FASD showed reduced volumes of subcortical structures relative to healthy comparison adults, suggesting persistent impact of PAE. Moreover, the observed volumetric reduction of the corpus callosum in females with FASD could suggest more rapid degeneration, which may have implications for cognition as these individuals continue to age.

Revisiting adolescence as a sensitive period for sociocultural processing

Waves of research and public discourse have characterized adolescence as periods of developmental risk and opportunity. Underlying this discussion is the recognition that adolescence is a period of major biological and social transition when experience may have an outsized effect on development. This article updates and expands upon prior work suggesting that adolescence may be a sensitive period for sociocultural processing specifically. By integrating evidence from developmental psychology and neuroscience, we identify how trajectories of social and neurobiological development may relate to adolescents' ability to adapt to and learn from their social environments. However, we also highlight gaps in the literature, including challenges in attributing developmental change to adolescent experiences. We discuss the importance of better understanding variability in biology (e.g., pubertal development) and cultural environments, as well as distinguishing between sensitive periods and periods of heightened sensitivity. Finally, we look toward future directions and translational implications of this research.

Using Organoids to Model Sex Differences in the Human Brain

Sex differences are widespread during neurodevelopment and play a role in neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism, which is more prevalent in males than females. In humans, males have been shown to have larger brain volumes than females with development of the hippocampus and amygdala showing prominent sex differences. Mechanistically, sex steroids and sex chromosomes drive these differences in brain development, which seem to peak during prenatal and pubertal stages. Animal models have played a crucial role in understanding sex differences, but the study of human sex differences requires an experimental model that can recapitulate complex genetic traits. To fill this gap, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain organoids are now being used to study how complex genetic traits influence prenatal brain development. For example, brain organoids from individuals with autism and individuals with X chromosome-linked Rett syndrome and fragile X syndrome have revealed prenatal differences in cell proliferation, a measure of brain volume differences, and excitatory-inhibitory imbalances. Brain organoids have also revealed increased neurogenesis of excitatory neurons due to androgens. However, despite growing interest in using brain organoids, several key challenges remain that affect its validity as a model system. In this review, we discuss how sex steroids and the sex chromosomes each contribute to sex differences in brain development. Then, we examine the role of X chromosome inactivation as a factor that drives sex differences. Finally, we discuss the combined challenges of modeling X chromosome inactivation and limitations of brain organoids that need to be taken into consideration when studying sex differences.

MULTIMODAL NEURAL CORRELATES OF CHILDHOOD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Complex structural and functional changes occurring in typical and atypical development necessitate multidimensional approaches to better understand the risk of developing psychopathology. Here, we simultaneously examined structural and functional brain network patterns in relation to dimensions of psychopathology in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development dataset. Several components were identified, recapitulating the psychopathology hierarchy, with the general psychopathology (p) factor explaining most covariance with multimodal imaging features, while the internalizing, externalizing, and neurodevelopmental dimensions were each associated with distinct morphological and functional connectivity signatures. Connectivity signatures associated with the p factor and neurodevelopmental dimensions followed the sensory-to-transmodal axis of cortical organization, which is related to the emergence of complex cognition and risk for psychopathology. Results were consistent in two separate data subsamples, supporting generalizability, and robust to variations in analytical parameters. Our findings help in better understanding biological mechanisms underpinning dimensions of psychopathology, and could provide brain-based vulnerability markers.

Microglia morphology in the developing primate amygdala and effects of early life stress

A unique pool of immature glutamatergic neurons in the primate amygdala, known as the paralaminar nucleus (PL), are maturing between infancy and adolescence. The PL is a potential substrate for the steep growth curve of amygdala volume during this developmental period. A microglial component is also embedded among the PL neurons, and likely supports local neuronal maturation and emerging synaptogenesis. Microglia may alter neuronal growth following environmental perturbations such as stress. Using multiple measures, we first found that microglia in the infant primate PL had relatively large somas, and a small arbor size. In contrast, microglia in the adolescent PL had a smaller soma, and a larger dendritic arbor. We then examined microglial morphology in the PL after a novel maternal separation protocol, to examine the effects of early life stress. After maternal separation, the microglia had increased soma size, arbor size and complexity. Surprisingly, strong effects were seen not only in the infant PL, but also in the adolescent PL from subjects who had experienced the separation many years earlier. We conclude that under maternal-rearing conditions, PL microglia morphology tracks PL neuronal growth, progressing to a more 'mature' phenotype by adolescence. Maternal separation has long-lasting effects on microglia, altering their normal developmental trajectory, and resulting in a 'hyper-ramified' phenotype that persists for years. We speculate that these changes have consequences for neuronal development in young primates.

Significance Statement

The paralaminar (PL) nucleus of the amygdala is an important source of plasticity, due to its unique repository of immature glutamatergic neurons. PL immature neurons mature between birth and adolescence. This process is likely supported by synaptogenesis, which requires microglia. Between infancy and adolescence in macaques, PL microglia became more dense, and shifted to a 'ramified' phenotype, consistent with increased synaptic pruning functions. Early life stress in the form of maternal separation, however, blunted this normal trajectory, leading to persistent 'parainflammatory' microglial morphologies. We speculate that early life stress may alter PL neuronal maturation and synapse formation through microglia.

Adolescents' challenging and grief-filled transitions when living with a parent with ALS: A qualitative interpretive study

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to explore the meaning for adolescents of living with a parent with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

METHODS

The design is qualitative. Interviews were conducted between December 2020 and April 2022 with 11 adolescents (8-25 y), living in households with a parent with ALS in Sweden. The analysis was phenomenologically hermeneutical.

RESULTS

The adolescents were in a difficult and exposed situation, especially if the parent had a severe disability and assistant care providers were in the home. Witnessing the gradual loss of the parent in an indefinite battle against time, while still needing them, elicited grief-filled and hard-to-manage emotions. Everyday life was turned upside down, resulting in greater responsibility for the adolescents, not only in helping with household chores and assisting the ill parent, but also in emotionally protecting both parents. It forced the adolescents to mature faster and put their own life on hold, triggering experiences of being limited. This, together with changing family roles yet being more attached to home, reinforced the imbalance in the adolescents' lives. The interpreted whole of the adolescents' narratives revealed that living with a parent with ALS meant a challenging and grieving transition during an already transition-filled adolescence, which left the adolescents struggling to keep a foothold on a life torn apart.

CONCLUSION

The unbalanced life situation may hinder the adolescents' identity formation and emancipation, which are developmentally important for managing a healthy and independent adulthood. The results emphasize the importance of early targeted support to reach this vulnerable group in order to secure their health.

Hippocampus and striatum show distinct contributions to longitudinal changes in value-based learning in middle childhood

The hippocampal-dependent memory system and striatal-dependent memory system modulate reinforcement learning depending on feedback timing in adults, but their contributions during development remain unclear. In a 2-year longitudinal study, 6-to-7-year-old children performed a reinforcement learning task in which they received feedback immediately or with a short delay following their response. Children's learning was found to be sensitive to feedback timing modulations in their reaction time and inverse temperature parameter, which quantifies value-guided decision-making. They showed longitudinal improvements towards more optimal value-based learning, and their hippocampal volume showed protracted maturation. Better delayed model-derived learning covaried with larger hippocampal volume longitudinally, in line with the adult literature. In contrast, a larger striatal volume in children was associated with both better immediate and delayed model-derived learning longitudinally. These findings show, for the first time, an early hippocampal contribution to the dynamic development of reinforcement learning in middle childhood, with neurally less differentiated and more cooperative memory systems than in adults.

Abnormal amygdala volume moderates parenting and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents with anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorders (AD) usually onset in childhood or adolescence and are related to brain development and early experiences during this period. As the hub of the fear circuit, the amygdala plays a crucial role in the development of emotional processing, and abnormalities in its structure and function are associated with anxiety disorders. We aim to uncover the amygdala volume's moderation between parenting and anxiety severity in children and adolescents with AD. 129 children and adolescents with anxiety and 135 age- and sex-matched Health controls (HC) using the publicly available Healthy Brain Network (HBN) dataset were included. Anxiety severity was measured using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders Self-report (SCARED-SR) and parenting was measured using the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire Self-Report (APQ-SR). We investigated age-related differences in amygdala volume in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Further, we examined the role of amygdala volume in moderating the association between parental involvement, particularly the maternal involvement, and anxiety symptoms in this population. We found larger bilateral amygdala in the AD group compared with the HC among the age range of 7-12. And increases in amygdala volume tended to negatively moderate the linear relationships between maternal involvement and anxiety symptoms in the AD group. These findings provide new evidence of abnormal brain alteration in children and adolescents with anxiety and may reflect proactive adaptations of adolescent brain development.

Smaller subcortical volume relates to greater weight gain in girls with initially healthy weight

OBJECTIVE

Among 3614 youth who were 9 to 12 years old and initially did not have overweight or obesity (12% [n = 385] developed overweight or obesity), we examined the natural progression of weight gain and brain structure development during a 2-year period with a high risk for obesity (e.g., pre- and early adolescence) to determine the following: 1) whether variation in maturational trajectories of the brain regions contributes to weight gain; and/or 2) whether weight gain contributes to altered brain development.

METHODS

Data were gathered from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Linear mixed-effects regression models controlled for puberty, caregiver education, handedness, and intracranial volume (random effects: magnetic resonance scanner [MRI] scanner and participant). Because pubertal development occurs earlier in girls, analyses were stratified by sex.

RESULTS

For girls, but not boys, independent of puberty, greater increases in BMI were driven by smaller volumes over time in the bilateral accumbens, amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus, right caudate and ventral diencephalon, and left pallidum (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest a potential phenotype for identifying obesity risk because underlying differences among regions involved in food intake were related to greater weight gain in girls, but not in boys. Importantly, 2 years of weight gain may not be sufficient to alter brain development, highlighting early puberty as a critical time to prevent negative neurological outcomes.

Associations between somatomotor-putamen resting state connectivity and obsessive-compulsive symptoms vary as a function of stress during early adolescence: Data from the ABCD study

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) are relatively common during adolescence although most individuals do not meet diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Nonetheless, OCS during adolescence are associated with comorbid psychopathologies and behavioral problems. Heightened levels of environmental stress and greater functional connectivity between the somatomotor network and putamen have been previously associated with elevated OCS in OCD patients relative to healthy controls. However, the interaction of these factors within the same sample of individuals has been understudied. This study examined somatomotor-putamen resting state connectivity, stress, and their interaction on OCS in adolescents from 9-12 years of age. Participants (n = 6386) were drawn from the ABCD Study 4.0 release. Multilevel modeling was used to account for nesting in the data and to assess changes in OCS in this age range. Stress moderated the association between somatomotor-putamen connectivity and OCS (β = 0.35, S.E. = 0.13, p = 0.006). Participants who reported more stress than their average and had greater somatomotor-left putamen connectivity reported more OCS, whereas participants who reported less stress than their average and had greater somatomotor-left putamen connectivity reported less OCS. These data suggest that stress differentially affects the direction of association between somatomotor-putamen connectivity and OCS. Individual differences in the experience or perception of stress may contribute to more OCS in adolescents with greater somatomotor-putamen connectivity.

Adolescent gender dysphoria management: position paper from the Italian Academy of Pediatrics, the Italian Society of Pediatrics, the Italian Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, the Italian Society of Adolescent Medicine and the Italian Society of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry

BACKGROUND

In response to the imperative need for standardized support for adolescent Gender Dysphoria (GD), the Italian Academy of Pediatrics, in collaboration with the Italian Society of Pediatrics, the Italian Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Italian Society of Adolescent Medicine and Italian Society of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry is drafting a position paper. The purpose of this paper is to convey the author's opinion on the topic, offering foundational information on potential aspects of gender-affirming care and emphasizing the care and protection of children and adolescents with GD.

MAIN BODY

Recognizing that adolescents may choose interventions based on their unique needs and goals and understanding that every individual within this group has a distinct trajectory, it is crucial to ensure that each one is welcomed and supported. The approach to managing individuals with GD is a multi-stage process involving a multidisciplinary team throughout all phases. Decisions regarding treatment should be reached collaboratively by healthcare professionals and the family, while considering the unique needs and circumstances of the individual and be guided by scientific evidence rather than biases or ideologies. Politicians and high court judges should address discrimination based on gender identity in legislation and support service development that aligns with the needs of young people. It is essential to establish accredited multidisciplinary centers equipped with the requisite skills and experience to effectively manage adolescents with GD, thereby ensuring the delivery of high-quality care.

CONCLUSION

Maintaining an evidence-based approach is essential to safeguard the well-being of transgender and gender diverse adolescents.

The role of self-referential and social processing in the relationship between pubertal status and difficulties in mental health and emotion regulation in adolescent girls in the UK

Adolescence is marked by the onset of puberty, which is associated with an increase in mental health difficulties, particularly in girls. Social and self-referential processes also develop during this period: adolescents become more aware of others' perspectives, and judgements about themselves become less favourable. In the current study, data from 119 girls (from London, UK) aged 9-16 years were collected at two-time points (between 2019 and 2021) to investigate the relationship between puberty and difficulties in mental health and emotion regulation, as well as the role of self-referential and social processing in this relationship. Structural equation modelling showed that advanced pubertal status predicted greater mental health and emotion regulation difficulties, including depression and anxiety, rumination and overall difficulties in emotion regulation, and in mental health and behaviour. Advanced pubertal status also predicted greater perspective-taking abilities and negative self-schemas. Exploratory analyses showed that negative self-schemas mediated the relationships between puberty and rumination, overall emotion regulation difficulties, and depression (although these effects were small and would not survive correction for multiple comparisons). The results suggest that advanced pubertal status is associated with higher mental health and emotion regulation problems during adolescence and that negative self-schemas may play a role in this association. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study investigates the relationship between puberty, mental health, emotion regulation difficulties, and social and self-referential processing in girls aged 9-16 years. Advanced pubertal status was associated with worse mental health and greater emotion regulation difficulties, better perspective-taking abilities and negative self-schemas. Negative self-schemas may play a role in the relationships between advanced pubertal status and depression, and advanced pubertal status and emotion regulation difficulties, including rumination.

Prenatal androgen exposure and sex-typical play behaviour: A meta-analysis of classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia studies

Thousands of non-human mammal experiments have demonstrated that early androgen exposure exerts long-lasting effects on neurobehavioural sexual differentiation. In humans, females with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) are exposed to unusually high concentrations of androgens prenatally, whereas prenatal concentrations of androgens in males with CAH are largely normal. The current meta-analysis included 20 independent samples and employed multi-level meta-analytic models. Consistently across all 7 male-typical and female-typical play outcomes, in the expected directions, the present study found significant and large average differences between control males and control females (gs = 0.83-2.78) as well as between females with CAH and control females (gs = 0.95-1.08), but differences between males with CAH and control males were mostly negligible and were non-significant for 6 of the 7 outcomes (gs = 0.04-0.27). These meta-analytic findings suggest that prenatal androgen exposure masculinises and defeminises play behaviour in humans. Broader implications in relation to sex chromosomes, brain development, oestrogens, socio-cognitive influences, other aspects of sex-related behavioural development, and gender nonconformity are discussed.

Volumetric analysis of age- and sex-related changes in the corpus striatum and thalamus in the 1-18 age group: a retrospective magnetic resonance imaging study

Studies of the development and asymmetry of the corpus striatum and thalamus in early childhood are rare. Studies investigating these structures across the lifespan have not presented their changes during childhood and adolescence in detail. For these reasons, this study investigated the effect of age and sex factors on the development and asymmetry of the corpus striatum and thalamus in the 1-18 age group. In this retrospective study, we included 652 individuals [362 (56%) males] aged 1-18 years with normal brain MRI between 2012 and 2021. Absolute and relative volumes of the corpus striatum and thalamus were obtained by segmentation of three-dimensional T1-weighted MRIs with volBrain1.0. We created age-specific volume data and month-based development models with the help of SPSS (ver.28). The corpus striatum and thalamus had cubic absolute volumetric developmental models. The relative volume of the caudate and thalamus (only males) is consistent with the decreasing "growth" model, the others with the decreasing cubic model. The absolute volumes of the males' bilateral corpus striatum and thalamus and the relative volumes of the caudate and thalamus of the females were significantly larger (P < 0.05). The caudate showed right > left lateralization; putamen, globus pallidus, and thalamus showed left > right lateralization.

Recommendations for a Better Understanding of Sex and Gender in the Neuroscience of Mental Health

There are prominent sex/gender differences in the prevalence, expression, and life span course of mental health and neurodiverse conditions. However, the underlying sex- and gender-related mechanisms and their interactions are still not fully understood. This lack of knowledge has harmful consequences for those with mental health problems. Therefore, we set up a cocreation session in a 1-week workshop with a multidisciplinary team of 25 researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to identify the main barriers in sex and gender research in the neuroscience of mental health. Based on this work, here we provide recommendations for methodologies, translational research, and stakeholder involvement. These include guidelines for recording, reporting, analysis beyond binary groups, and open science. Improved understanding of sex- and gender-related mechanisms in neuroscience may benefit public health because this is an important step toward precision medicine and may function as an archetype for studying diversity.

Association of emotional and behavioral problems with the development of the substantia nigra, subthalamic nucleus, and red nucleus volumes and asymmetries from childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal cohort study

The substantia nigra (SN), subthalamic nucleus (STN), and red nucleus (RN) have been widely studied as important biomarkers of degenerative diseases. However, how they develop in childhood and adolescence and are affected by emotional behavior has not been studied thus far. This population-based longitudinal cohort study used data from a representative sample followed two to five times. Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Linear mixed models were used to map developmental trajectories and behavioral regulation. Using an innovative automated image segmentation technique, we quantified the volumes and asymmetries of the SN, STN and RN with 1226 MRI scans of a large longitudinal sample of 667 subjects aged 6-15 years and mapped their developmental trajectories. The results showed that the absolute and relative volumes of the bilateral SN and right STN showed linear increases, while the absolute volume of the right RN and relative volume of the bilateral RN decreased linearly, these effects were not affected by gender. Hyperactivity/inattention weakened the increase in SN volume and reduced the absolute volume of the STN, conduct problems impeded the RN volume from decreasing, and emotional symptoms changed the direction of SN lateralization. This longitudinal cohort study mapped the developmental trajectories of SN, STN, and RN volumes and asymmetries from childhood to adolescence, and found the association of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and hyperactivity/inattention with these trajectories, providing guidance for preventing and intervening in cognitive and emotional behavioral problems.

Adolescent to young adult longitudinal development of subcortical volumes in two European sites with four waves

Adolescent subcortical structural brain development might underlie psychopathological symptoms, which often emerge in adolescence. At the same time, sex differences exist in psychopathology, which might be mirrored in underlying sex differences in structural development. However, previous studies showed inconsistencies in subcortical trajectories and potential sex differences. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the subcortical structural trajectories and their sex differences across adolescence using for the first time a single cohort design, the same quality control procedure, software, and a general additive mixed modeling approach. We investigated two large European sites from ages 14 to 24 with 503 participants and 1408 total scans from France and Germany as part of the IMAGEN project including four waves of data acquisition. We found significantly larger volumes in males versus females in both sites and across all seven subcortical regions. Sex differences in age-related trajectories were observed across all regions in both sites. Our findings provide further evidence of sex differences in longitudinal adolescent brain development of subcortical regions and thus might eventually support the relationship of underlying brain development and different adolescent psychopathology in boys and girls.

Associations between physical fitness and cerebellar gray matter volume in adolescents

Despite the importance of the developing cerebellum on cognition, the associations between physical fitness and cerebellar volume in adolescents remain unclear. We explored the associations of physical fitness with gray matter (GM) volume of VI, VIIb and Crus I & II, which are cerebellar lobules related to cognition, in 40 (22 females; 17.9 ± 0.8 year-old) adolescents, and whether the associations were sex-specific. Peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak ) and power were assessed by maximal ramp test on a cycle ergometer, muscular strength with standing long jump (SLJ), speed-agility with the shuttle-run test (SRT), coordination with the Box and Block Test (BBT) and neuromuscular performance index (NPI) as the sum of SLJ, BBT and SRT z-scores. Body composition was measured using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Cerebellar volumes were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. V̇O2peak relative to lean mass was inversely associated with the GM volume of the cerebellum (standardized regression coefficient (β) = -0.038, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.075 to 0.001, p = 0.044). Cumulative NPI was positively associated with the GM volume of Crus I (β = 0.362, 95% CI 0.045 to 0.679, p = 0.027). In females, better performance in SRT was associated with a larger GM volume of Crus I (β = -0.373, 95% CI -0.760 to -0.028, p = 0.036). In males, cumulative NPI was inversely associated with the GM volume of Crus II (β = -0.793, 95% CI -1.579 to -0.008 p = 0.048). Other associations were nonsignificant. In conclusion, cardiorespiratory fitness, neuromuscular performance and speed-agility were associated with cerebellar GM volume, and the strength and direction of associations were sex-specific.

Assessment and management of anxiety and depression in a pediatric high-risk asthma clinic

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of positive mental health (MH) screens in a pediatric high-risk asthma (HRA) clinic population, and to determine the success rate of engagement in MH services before and after adding a clinical psychologist to our multidisciplinary clinic.

HYPOTHESIS

We hypothesized that the HRA population would have a higher prevalence of anxiety/depression symptoms than that previously reported for the general pediatric asthma population. We anticipated that the presence of an embedded psychologist in HRA clinic would facilitate successful connection to MH services.

METHODS

Pediatric patients in the HRA clinic were prospectively screened for anxiety and depression using validated screening instruments. Positive scores were referred for MH services. Time to MH service engagement was recorded before and after the addition of a clinical psychologist.

RESULTS

A total of 186 patients were screened; 60% had a positive MH screen. Female sex was associated with higher median scores on both screening tools and higher likelihood of engagement in MH services. After addition of a clinical psychologist, new engagement in MH services increased (20% vs. 80%, p < 0.0001), and median time to engagement decreased (14.5 vs. 0.0 months, p = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

There is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression in this pediatric HRA population. Success of engagement in MH services improved after a clinical psychologist joined our multidisciplinary team, suggesting access to care as a primary barrier to engagement.

Puberty, brain network connectivity and neuropsychiatric outcomes following pediatric traumatic brain injury in females: A research protocol

BACKGROUND

Examining the role of sex on recovery from pediatric TBI (pTBI) is a complex task, specifically when referring to injuries occurring during critical developmental and maturation periods. The effect of sex hormones on neurological and neuropsychiatric outcomes has been studied among adult TBI females, but not in children. During development, puberty is considered a key milestone accompanied by changes in physical growth, neuronal maturation, sex hormones, and psychological symptoms. Following pTBI, such changes might have a significant effect on brain re-organization and on long-term neuropsychiatric outcomes. While hormonal dysfunction is a common consequence following pTBI, only few studies have systematically evaluated hormonal changes following pTBI.

AIMS

To describe a multimodal protocol aimed to examine the effect of puberty on brain connectivity and long-term neuropsychiatric outcomes following TBI in female girls and adolescents.

METHODS

A case-control longitudinal prospective design will be used. 120 female participants aged 9 to 16 years (N = 60 per group) will be recruited. In the acute phase (T0-1 month), participants will undergo an MRI protocol for brain connectivity, as well as a clinical evaluation for puberty stage and hormonal levels. In the chronic phase (T1-18-24 months), participants will complete a neuropsychiatric assessment in addition to the MRI and puberty evaluations. Hormonal levels will be monitored at T0 and T1. A moderation-mediation model will be used to examine the moderating effects of puberty on the association between pTBI and neuropsychiatric symptoms in female girls and adolescents, through the mediating effect of brain network connectivity.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study will highlight sex-specific factors related to outcomes among females following pTBI and enhance our understanding of the unique challenges they face. Such information has a substantial potential to guide future directions for research, policy and practice.

Prenatal tobacco exposure on brain morphometry partially mediated poor cognitive performance in preadolescent children

Objectives

To evaluate whether prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) is related to poorer cognitive performance, abnormal brain morphometry, and whether poor cognitive performance is mediated by PTE-related structural brain differences.

Methods

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study dataset was used to compare structural MRI data and neurocognitive (NIH Toolbox®) scores in 9-to-10-year-old children with (n=620) and without PTE (n=10,989). We also evaluated whether PTE effects on brain morphometry mediated PTE effects on neurocognitive scores. Group effects were evaluated using Linear Mixed Models, covaried for socio-demographics and prenatal exposures to alcohol and/or marijuana, and corrected for multiple comparisons using the false-discovery rate (FDR).

Results

Compared to unexposed children, those with PTE had poorer performance (all p-values <0.05) on executive function, working memory, episodic memory, reading decoding, crystallized intelligence, fluid intelligence and overall cognition. Exposed children also had thinner parahippocampal gyri, smaller surface areas in the posterior-cingulate and pericalcarine cortices; the lingual and inferior parietal gyri, and smaller thalamic volumes (all p-values <0.001). Furthermore, among children with PTE, girls had smaller surface areas in the superior-frontal (interaction-FDR-p=0.01), precuneus (interaction-FDR-p=0.03) and postcentral gyri (interaction-FDR-p=0.02), while boys had smaller putamen volumes (interaction-FDR-p=0.02). Smaller surface areas across regions of the frontal and parietal lobes, and lower thalamic volumes, partially mediated the associations between PTE and poorer neurocognitive scores (p-values <0.001).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest PTE may lead to poorer cognitive performance and abnormal brain morphometry, with sex-specific effects in some brain regions, in pre-adolescent children. The poor cognition in children with PTE may result from the smaller areas and subcortical brain volumes.

From mother to child: How intergenerational transfer is reflected in similarity of corticolimbic brain structure and mental health

BACKGROUND

Intergenerational transfer effects include traits transmission from parent to child. While behaviorally well documented, studies on intergenerational transfer effects for brain structure or functioning are scarce, especially those examining relations of behavioral and neurobiological endophenotypes. This study aims to investigate behavioral and neural intergenerational transfer effects associated with the corticolimbic circuitry, relevant for socioemotional functioning and mental well-being.

METHODS

T1-neuroimaging and behavioral data was obtained from 72 participants (39 mother-child dyads/ 39 children; 7-13 years; 16 girls/ 33 mothers; 26-52 years). Gray matter volume (GMV) was extracted from corticolimbic regions (subcortical: amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens; neocortical: anterior cingulate, medial orbitofrontal areas). Mother-child similarity was quantified by correlation coefficients and comparisons to random adult-child pairs.

RESULTS

We identified significant corticolimbic mother-child similarity (r = 0.663) stronger for subcortical over neocortical regions. Mother-child similarity in mental well-being was significant (r = 0.409) and the degree of dyadic similarity in mental well-being was predicted by similarity in neocortical, but not subcortical GMV.

CONCLUSION

Intergenerational neuroimaging reveals significant mother-child transfer for corticolimbic GMV, most strongly for subcortical regions. However, variations in neocortical similarity predicted similarity in mother-child well-being. Ultimately, such techniques may enhance our knowledge of behavioral and neural familial transfer effects relevant for health and disease.

Cortical and subcortical structural differences in psychostimulant-free ADHD youth with and without a family history of bipolar I disorder: a cross-sectional morphometric comparison

Although attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a family history of bipolar I disorder (BD) are associated with increased risk for developing BD, their neuroanatomical substrates remain poorly understood. This study compared cortical and subcortical gray matter morphology in psychostimulant-free ADHD youth with and without a first-degree relative with BD and typically developing healthy controls. ADHD youth (ages 10-18 years) with ('high-risk', HR) or without ('low-risk', LR) a first-degree relative with BD and healthy comparison youth (HC) were enrolled. High-resolution 3D T1-weighted images were acquired using a Philips 3.0 T MR scanner. The FreeSurfer image analysis suite was used to measure cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volumes. A general linear model evaluated group differences in MRI features with age and sex as covariates, and exploratory correlational analyses evaluated associations with symptom ratings. A total of n = 142 youth (mean age: 14.16 ± 2.54 years, 35.9% female) were included in the analysis (HC, n = 48; LR, n = 49; HR, n = 45). The HR group exhibited a more severe symptom profile, including higher mania and dysregulation scores, compared to the LR group. For subcortical volumes, the HR group exhibited smaller bilateral thalamic, hippocampal, and left caudate nucleus volumes compared to both LR and HC, and smaller right caudate nucleus compared with LR. No differences were found between LR and HC groups. For cortical surface area, the HR group exhibited lower parietal and temporal surface area compared with HC and LR, and lower orbitofrontal and superior frontal surface area compared to LR. The HR group exhibited lower left anterior cingulate surface area compared with HC. LR participants exhibited greater right pars opercularis surface area compared with the HC. Some cortical alterations correlated with symptom severity ratings. These findings suggest that ADHD in youth with a BD family history is associated with a more a severe symptom profile and a neuroanatomical phenotype that distinguishes it from ADHD without a BD family history.

Neuroimaging in Adolescents: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Risk for Substance Use Disorders

Trauma in childhood and adolescence has long-term negative consequences in brain development and behavior and increases the risk for psychiatric disorders. Among them, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during adolescence illustrates the connection between trauma and substance misuse, as adolescents may utilize substances to cope with PTSD. Drug misuse may in turn lead to neuroadaptations in learning processes that facilitate the consolidation of traumatic memories that perpetuate PTSD. This reflects, apart from common genetic and epigenetic modifications, overlapping neurocircuitry engagement triggered by stress and drug misuse that includes structural and functional changes in limbic brain regions and the salience, default-mode, and frontoparietal networks. Effective strategies to prevent PTSD are needed to limit the negative consequences associated with the later development of a substance use disorder (SUD). In this review, we will examine the link between PTSD and SUDs, along with the resulting effects on memory, focusing on the connection between the development of an SUD in individuals who struggled with PTSD in adolescence. Neuroimaging has emerged as a powerful tool to provide insight into the brain mechanisms underlying the connection of PTSD in adolescence and the development of SUDs.

Emotional and behavioral problems change the development of cerebellar gray matter volume, thickness, and surface area from childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal cohort study

AIMS

Increasing evidence indicates that major neurodevelopmental disorders have potential links to abnormal cerebellar development. However, the developmental trajectories of cerebellar subregions from childhood to adolescence are lacking, and it is not clear how emotional and behavioral problems affect them. We aim to map the developmental trajectories of gray matter volume (GMV), cortical thickness (CT), and surface area (SA) in cerebellar subregions from childhood to adolescence and examine how emotional and behavioral problems change the cerebellar development trajectory in a longitudinal cohort study.

METHOD

This population-based longitudinal cohort study used data on a representative sample of 695 children. Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed at baseline and at three annual follow-ups with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

RESULTS

Using an innovative automated image segmentation technique, we quantified the GMV, CT, and SA of the whole cerebellum and 24 subdivisions (lobules I-VI, VIIB, VIIIA&B, and IX-X plus crus I-II) with 1319 MRI scans from a large longitudinal sample of 695 subjects aged 6-15 years and mapped their developmental trajectories. We also examined sex differences and found that boys showed more linear growth, while girls showed more nonlinear growth. Boys and girls showed nonlinear growth in the cerebellar subregions; however, girls reached the peak earlier than boys. Further analysis found that emotional and behavioral problems modulated cerebellar development. Specifically, emotional symptoms impede the expansion of the SA of the cerebellar cortex, and no gender differences; conduct problems lead to inadequate cerebellar GMV development only in girls, but not boys; hyperactivity/inattention delays the development of cerebellar GMV and SA, with left cerebellar GMV, right VIIIA GMV and SA in boys and left V GMV and SA in girls; peer problems disrupt CT growth and SA expansion, resulting in delayed GMV development, with bilateral IV, right X CT in boys and right Crus I GMV, left V SA in girls; and prosocial behavior problems impede the expansion of the SA and lead to excessive CT growth, with bilateral IV, V, right VI CT, left cerebellum SA in boys and right Crus I GMV in girls.

CONCLUSIONS

This study maps the developmental trajectories of GMV, CT, and SA in cerebellar subregions from childhood to adolescence. In addition, we provide the first evidence for how emotional and behavioral problems affect the dynamic development of GMV, CT, and SA in the cerebellum, which provides an important basis and guidance for the prevention and intervention of cognitive and emotional behavioral problems in the future.

Early life interpersonal stress and depression: Social reward processing as a potential mediator

Experiencing stressful events early in life is lamentably very common and widespread across the globe. Despite the strong link between experiencing such stress and developing depression, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. This review addresses this critical question by drawing focus to "early life interpersonal stress" (ELIS), or stressful experiences that occur within the context of a relationship where there is close, direct interaction. Recent evidence suggests that ELIS uniquely relates to depression. A growing body of work demonstrates that ELIS impacts how youth respond to social reward (e.g., positive social stimuli/ feedback). Similar social reward-related impairments are noted in youth with depression. The current review synthesizes these two disparate, yet related, bodies of literature examining the relations between a) ELIS and neurobehavioral alterations in social reward processing; and b) behavioral and neural processing of social reward in depression. A preliminary model presents neurobehavioral disruptions in social reward processing as one mediating factor underlying the connection between ELIS and depression. Key limitations and future directions are discussed.

New Horizons: Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone and Cognition

Pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is essential for activating and maintaining the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, which controls the onset of puberty and fertility. Two recent studies suggest that, in addition to controlling reproduction, the neurons in the brain that produce GnRH are also involved in the control of postnatal brain maturation, odor discrimination, and adult cognition. This review will summarize the development and establishment of the GnRH system, with particular attention to the importance of its first postnatal activation, a phenomenon known as minipuberty, for later reproductive and nonreproductive functions. In addition, we will discuss the beneficial effects of restoring physiological (ie, pulsatile) GnRH levels on olfactory and cognitive alterations in preclinical Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease models, as well as the potential risks associated with long-term continuous (ie, nonphysiological) GnRH administration in certain disorders. Finally, this review addresses the intriguing possibility that pulsatile GnRH therapy may hold therapeutic potential for the management of some neurodevelopmental cognitive disorders and pathological aging in elderly people.

Youth Team Sports Participation Associates With Reduced Dimensional Psychopathology Through Interaction With Biological Risk Factors

Background

Physical activity is associated with mental health benefits in youth. Here, we used causal inference and triangulation with 2 levels of biology to substantiate relationships between sports participation and dimensional psychopathology in youths.

Methods

Baseline data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which recruited children from 9 to 10 years of age across the United States, were included in multilevel regression models to assess relationships between lifetime participation in team sports (TS), individual sports, and nonsports activities and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores. We calculated polygenic risk scores for 8 psychiatric disorders to assess interactions with sports exposure on CBCL scores among European descendants. Following rigorous quality control, FreeSurfer-extracted brain magnetic resonance imaging structural data were examined for mediation of CBCL-activities relationships.

Results

Among those with complete data (N = 10,411), causal estimates using inverse probability weighting associated lifetime TS exposure with a 1.05-point reduction in CBCL total (95% CI, -1.54 to -0.56, p < .0001) a relationship that was specific to TS and strengthened with more years of exposure. Associations of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder polygenic loading with CBCL total weakened in European children with TS exposure (n = 4041; beta = -0.93, SE = 0.38, p = .013). Furthermore, TS participation and lower CBCL each associated with increased subcortical volumes (n = 8197). Subcortical volume mediated 5.5% of TS effects on CBCL total.

Conclusions

Our findings support prior associations of TS participation with lower psychopathology in youths through additional studies that demonstrate specificity, dose response, and coherence across 2 levels of biology. Longitudinal studies that further clarify causal relationships may justify interventional studies of TS for high-risk youth.

Profiling intra- and inter-individual differences in brain development across early adolescence

As we move toward population-level developmental neuroscience, understanding intra- and inter-individual variability in brain maturation and sources of neurodevelopmental heterogeneity becomes paramount. Large-scale, longitudinal neuroimaging studies have uncovered group-level neurodevelopmental trajectories, and while recent work has begun to untangle intra- and inter-individual differences, they remain largely unclear. Here, we aim to quantify both intra- and inter-individual variability across facets of neurodevelopment across early adolescence (ages 8.92 to 13.83 years) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study and examine inter-individual variability as a function of age, sex, and puberty. Our results provide novel insight into differences in annualized percent change in macrostructure, microstructure, and functional brain development from ages 9-13 years old. These findings reveal moderate age-related intra-individual change, but age-related differences in inter-individual variability only in a few measures of cortical macro- and microstructure development. Greater inter-individual variability in brain development were seen in mid-pubertal individuals, except for a few aspects of white matter development that were more variable between prepubertal individuals in some tracts. Although both sexes contributed to inter-individual differences in macrostructure and functional development in a few regions of the brain, we found limited support for hypotheses regarding greater male-than-female variability. This work highlights pockets of individual variability across facets of early adolescent brain development, while also highlighting regional differences in heterogeneity to facilitate future investigations in quantifying and probing nuances in normative development, and deviations therefrom.

The Hitchhiker's guide to longitudinal models: A primer on model selection for repeated-measures methods

Longitudinal data are becoming increasingly available in developmental neuroimaging. To maximize the promise of this wealth of information on how biology, behavior, and cognition change over time, there is a need to incorporate broad and rigorous training in longitudinal methods into the repertoire of developmental neuroscientists. Fortunately, these models have an incredibly rich tradition in the broader developmental sciences that we can draw from. Here, we provide a primer on longitudinal models, written in a beginner-friendly (and slightly irreverent) manner, with a particular focus on selecting among different modeling frameworks (e.g., multilevel versus latent curve models) to build the theoretical model of development a researcher wishes to test. Our aims are three-fold: (1) lay out a heuristic framework for longitudinal model selection, (2) build a repository of references that ground each model in its tradition of methodological development and practical implementation with a focus on connecting researchers to resources outside traditional neuroimaging journals, and (3) provide practical resources in the form of a codebook companion demonstrating how to fit these models. These resources together aim to enhance training for the next generation of developmental neuroscientists by providing a solid foundation for future forays into advanced modeling applications.

Childhood socioeconomic status and the pace of structural neurodevelopment: accelerated, delayed, or simply different?

Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with children's brain and behavioral development. Several theories propose that early experiences of adversity or low SES can alter the pace of neurodevelopment during childhood and adolescence. These theories make contrasting predictions about whether adverse experiences and low SES are associated with accelerated or delayed neurodevelopment. We contextualize these predictions within the context of normative development of cortical and subcortical structure and review existing evidence on SES and structural brain development to adjudicate between competing hypotheses. Although none of these theories are fully consistent with observed SES-related differences in brain development, existing evidence suggests that low SES is associated with brain structure trajectories more consistent with a delayed or simply different developmental pattern than an acceleration in neurodevelopment.

The age-varying effects of adolescent stress on impulsivity and sensation seeking

Adolescence is defined in part by heightened exposure and sensitivity to stressors. In a longitudinal cohort of youth at risk for substance use problems, we examined the age-varying relationship between stress exposure and traits that are central to the dual systems model. The positive associations between stress exposure, impulsivity, sensation seeking varied as function of age. Specifically, the influence of stress exposure on impulsivity strengthened during early adolescence and remained stable into early adulthood, while the influence of stress exposure on sensation seeking strengthened from early- to mid-adolescence and weakened thereafter. These findings suggest that the maturational imbalance between the capacity to regulate impulsive tendencies and sensation seeking may be exaggerated for youth who are exposed to a high number of stressors.

Increased hippocampal efficiency is associated with greater headache frequency in adolescents with chronic headache

Adults with chronic headache have altered brain hippocampal efficiency networks. Less is known about the mechanisms underlying chronic headache in youth. In total, 29 youth with chronic headache (10-18 years), and 29 healthy, age- and sex-matched controls tracked their headache attacks daily for 1-month period. Following this, they underwent a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan and self-reported on their pubertal status, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Graph-based topological analyses of brain networks, rendering hippocampal efficiency values were performed. T-tests were used to compare hippocampal efficiency metrics between patients and controls. Linear regression was used to examine significant hippocampal efficiency metrics in relation to headache frequency in patients, controlling for age, sex, pubertal status, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Patients had higher right hippocampal global efficiency, shorter right hippocampal path length, and higher right hippocampal clustering coefficient compared to controls (P < 0.05). Higher right hippocampal global efficiency, shorter right hippocampal path length, and higher right hippocampal clustering coefficients were positively associated with greater headache frequency (P < 0.05). The hippocampus is largely involved in memory formation and retrieval, and this data provides additional support for previous findings demonstrating the importance of the hippocampus and pain memories for the chronification of pain.

Adolescent brain development in girls with Turner syndrome

Turner syndrome (TS) is a common sex chromosome aneuploidy in females associated with various physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional phenotypes. However, few studies have examined TS-associated alterations in the development of cortical gray matter volume and the two components that comprise this measure-surface area and thickness. Moreover, the longitudinal direct (i.e., genetic) and indirect (i.e., hormonal) effects of X-monosomy on the brain are unclear. Brain structure was assessed in 61 girls with TS (11.3 ± 2.8 years) and 55 typically developing girls (10.8 ± 2.3 years) for up to 4 timepoints. Surface-based analyses of cortical gray matter volume, thickness, and surface area were conducted to examine the direct effects of X-monosomy present before pubertal onset and indirect hormonal effects of estrogen deficiency/X-monosomy emerging after pubertal onset. Longitudinal analyses revealed that, whereas typically developing girls exhibited normative declines in gray matter structure during adolescence, this pattern was reduced or inverted in TS. Further, girls with TS demonstrated smaller total surface area and larger average cortical thickness overall. Regionally, the TS group exhibited decreased volume and surface area in the pericalcarine, postcentral, and parietal regions relative to typically developing girls, as well as larger volume in the caudate, amygdala, and temporal lobe regions and increased thickness in parietal and temporal regions. Surface area alterations were predominant by age 8, while maturational differences in thickness emerged by age 10 or later. Taken together, these results suggest the involvement of both direct and indirect effects of X-chromosome haploinsufficiency on brain development in TS.

Four-dimensional mapping of dynamic longitudinal brain subcortical development and early learning functions in infants

Brain subcortical structures are paramount in many cognitive functions and their aberrations during infancy are predisposed to various neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, making it highly essential to characterize the early subcortical normative growth patterns. This study investigates the volumetric development and surface area expansion of six subcortical structures and their associations with Mullen scales of early learning by leveraging 513 high-resolution longitudinal MRI scans within the first two postnatal years. Results show that (1) each subcortical structure (except for the amygdala with an approximately linear increase) undergoes rapid nonlinear volumetric growth after birth, which slows down at a structure-specific age with bilaterally similar developmental patterns; (2) Subcortical local area expansion reveals structure-specific and spatiotemporally heterogeneous patterns; (3) Positive associations between thalamus and both receptive and expressive languages and between caudate and putamen and fine motor are revealed. This study advances our understanding of the dynamic early subcortical developmental patterns.