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Augsburger P, Liimatta J, Flück CE. Update on Adrenarche-Still a Mystery. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2024; 109:1403-1422. [PMID: 38181424 DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgae008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
CONTEXT Adrenarche marks the timepoint of human adrenal development when the cortex starts secreting androgens in increasing amounts, in healthy children at age 8-9 years, with premature adrenarche (PA) earlier. Because the molecular regulation and significance of adrenarche are unknown, this prepubertal event is characterized descriptively, and PA is a diagnosis by exclusion with unclear long-term consequences. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION We searched the literature of the past 5 years, including original articles, reviews, and meta-analyses from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus, using search terms adrenarche, pubarche, DHEAS, steroidogenesis, adrenal, and zona reticularis. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Numerous studies addressed different topics of adrenarche and PA. Although basic studies on human adrenal development, zonation, and zona reticularis function enhanced our knowledge, the exact mechanism leading to adrenarche remains unsolved. Many regulators seem involved. A promising marker of adrenarche (11-ketotestosterone) was found in the 11-oxy androgen pathway. By current definition, the prevalence of PA can be as high as 9% to 23% in girls and 2% to 10% in boys, but only a subset of these children might face related adverse health outcomes. CONCLUSION New criteria for defining adrenarche and PA are needed to identify children at risk for later disease and to spare children with a normal variation. Further research is therefore required to understand adrenarche. Prospective, long-term studies should characterize prenatal or early postnatal developmental pathways that modulate trajectories of birth size, early postnatal growth, childhood overweight/obesity, adrenarche and puberty onset, and lead to abnormal sexual maturation, fertility, and other adverse outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Augsburger
- Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetology, and Metabolism, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
- Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jani Liimatta
- Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetology, and Metabolism, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
- Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland
- Kuopio Pediatric Research Unit (KuPRU), University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, 70029 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Christa E Flück
- Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetology, and Metabolism, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
- Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland
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Baker AE, Padgaonkar NT, Galván A, Peris TS. Anxiety may alter the role of fronto-striatal circuitry in adolescent risky decision-making. J Affect Disord 2024; 348:238-247. [PMID: 38160886 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders often emerge in adolescence and are associated with risk aversion. Risk aversion conflicts with the typical adolescent approach-motivated phenotype and can interfere with learning and contribute to symptom maintenance. METHODS We investigated the neural and behavioral correlates of risk avoidance in a diverse sample of adolescents (N = 137; MAge = 11.3; 34.3 % white, 22.1 % Latino, 20 % Asian, 14.3 % Black, 9.3 % Mixed Race) as they completed a task involving risky decision-making and response inhibition during fMRI. Voluntary cautious choice was compared to successful response inhibition to isolate the neural systems underlying the decision to avoid a risk and identify their relation to risk-taking and anxiety in adolescents. RESULTS Anxious adolescents self-reported more avoidance but demonstrated normative risk-taking on the laboratory task. Interestingly, they responded quickly during response inhibition but took longer to decide in the face of risk. All youth showed widespread recruitment of decision-making and salience network regions when deciding to avoid risk. The neural mechanisms driving avoidance differed based on anxiety such that left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activation was linked to risk avoidance in adolescents with low anxiety and risk-taking in anxious adolescents, while striatal connectivity was linked to risk avoidance in anxious adolescents and risk-taking in those with low anxiety. LIMITATIONS This work is cross-sectional and therefore cannot speak to causality or directionality of effects. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the neural mechanisms contributing to adolescent risk-taking may function to promote avoidance in anxious youth, increasing vulnerability to maladaptive avoidance and further anxiety development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda E Baker
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States of America.
| | - Namita Tanya Padgaonkar
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Adriana Galván
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Tara S Peris
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States of America
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Vijayakumar N, Whittle S, Silk TJ. Corticolimbic connectivity mediates the relationship between pubertal timing and mental health problems. Psychol Med 2023; 53:7655-7665. [PMID: 37264939 PMCID: PMC10755248 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723001472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Undergoing puberty ahead of peers ('earlier pubertal timing') is an important risk factor for mental health problems during early adolescence. The current study examined pathways between pubertal timing and mental health via connectivity of neural systems implicated in emotional reactivity and regulation (specifically corticolimbic connections) in 9- to 14-year-olds. METHOD Research questions were examined in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a large population representative sample in the United States. Linear mixed models examined associations between pubertal timing and resting-state corticolimbic connectivity. Significant connections were examined as potential mediators of the relationship between pubertal timing and mental health (withdrawn depressed and rule-breaking) problems. Exploratory analyses interrogated whether the family environment moderated neural risk patterns in those undergoing puberty earlier than their peers. RESULTS Earlier pubertal timing was related to decreased connectivity between limbic structures (bilateral amygdala and right hippocampus) and the cingulo-opercular network, left amygdala and somatomotor (mouth) network, as well as between the left hippocampus and ventral attention network and visual network. Corticolimbic connections also mediated the relationship between earlier pubertal timing and increased withdrawn depressed problems (but not rule-breaking problems). Finally, parental acceptance buffered against connectivity patterns that were implicated in withdrawn depressed problems in those undergoing puberty earlier than their peers. CONCLUSION Findings highlight the role of decreased corticolimbic connectivity in mediating pathways between earlier pubertal timing and withdrawn depressed problems, and we present preliminary evidence that the family environment may buffer against these neural risk patterns during early adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandita Vijayakumar
- Deakin University, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sarah Whittle
- Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Timothy J. Silk
- Deakin University, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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Ladouceur CD, Henry T, Ojha A, Shirtcliff EA, Silk JS. Fronto-amygdala resting state functional connectivity is associated with anxiety symptoms among adolescent girls more advanced in pubertal maturation. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 60:101236. [PMID: 36996571 PMCID: PMC10063408 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Early adolescence, with the onset of puberty, is an important period when sex differences in anxiety emerge, with girls reporting significantly higher anxiety symptoms than boys. This study examined the role of puberty on fronto-amygdala functional connectivity and risk of anxiety symptoms in 70 girls (age 11-13) who completed a resting state fMRI scan, self-report measures of anxiety symptoms and pubertal status, and provided basal testosterone levels (64 girls). Resting state fMRI data were preprocessed using fMRIPrep and connectivity indices were extracted from ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and amygdala regions-of-interest. We tested moderated mediation models and hypothesized that vmPFC-amygdala would mediate the relation between three indices of puberty (testosterone and adrenarcheal/gonadarcheal development) and anxiety, with puberty moderating the relation between connectivity and anxiety. Results showed a significant moderation effect of testosterone and adrenarcheal development in the right amygdala and a rostral/dorsal area of the vmPFC and of gonadarcheal development in the left amygdala and a medial area of the vmPFC on anxiety symptoms. Simple slope analyses showed that vmPFC-amygdala connectivity was negatively associated with anxiety only in girls more advanced in puberty suggesting that sensitivity to the effects of puberty on fronto-amygdala function could contribute to risk for anxiety disorders among adolescent girls.
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Vijayakumar N, Whittle S. A systematic review into the role of pubertal timing and the social environment in adolescent mental health problems. Clin Psychol Rev 2023; 102:102282. [PMID: 37094393 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nandita Vijayakumar
- Deakin University, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
| | - Sarah Whittle
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Victoria, Australia
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Thijssen S, Collins PF, Luciana M. Does pubertal stage mediate the association between family environment and structure and function of the amygdala-mPFC circuit? A replication study of the longitudinal ABCD cohort. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 56:101120. [PMID: 35716638 PMCID: PMC9213703 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychosocial acceleration theory suggests that early stress accelerates pubertal development. Using half of the baseline Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort, Thijssen et al. (2020) provide support that accelerated puberty following stressful family environments may promote neurodevelopment. Here, we replicate and extend those analyses using 1) data from the second half of the ABCD sample (n = 3300 +, ages 9-10), and 2) longitudinal imaging data from the original sample (n = 1800 +, ages 11-12). A family environment latent variable was created and related to anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) thickness, area, white matter fractional anisotropy, amygdala volume, and cingulo-opercular network (CON)-amygdala resting-state functional connectivity. Results from the independent sample replicate the mediating effects of family environment through pubertal stage on amygdala-CON functional connectivity. Sex-stratified analyses show indirect effects via pubertal stage in girls; boys show evidence for direct associations. Analyses using wave 2 imaging data or wave 2-wave 1 difference scores from the originally-analyzed sample replicate the resting-state indirect effects. The current paper replicates the mediating role for puberty in the association between family environment and neurodevelopment. As both direct and indirect associations were found, puberty may be one of multiple mechanisms driving accelerated neurodevelopment following environmental stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Thijssen
- Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands,Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands,Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA,Correspondence to: Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Postbus 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - Paul F. Collins
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Monica Luciana
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Colich NL, McLaughlin KA. Accelerated pubertal development as a mechanism linking trauma exposure with depression and anxiety in adolescence. Curr Opin Psychol 2022; 46:101338. [PMID: 35430517 PMCID: PMC9378424 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to early-life adversity (ELA) is associated with elevated risk for depression and anxiety disorders in adolescence. Identifying mechanisms through which ELA contributes to the emergence of depression and anxiety is necessary to design preventive interventions. One potential mechanism linking exposure to ELA with psychopathology is accelerated pubertal development. Exposure to trauma-specifically interpersonal violence-is associated with earlier pubertal timing, which in turn predicts adolescent-onset depression and anxiety disorders. We review the recent literature on adversity and accelerated pubertal development, exploring specific associations between trauma and accelerated pubertal development as a mechanism linking adversity with depression and anxiety disorders in adolescence. Finally, we suggest future directions for research exploring mechanisms linking ELA with accelerated pubertal development as well as pubertal timing and psychopathology in adolescence.
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Adrenarche is the pubertal maturation of the innermost zone of the adrenal cortex, the zona reticularis. The onset of adrenarche occurs between 6 and 8 years of age when dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) concentrations increase. This review provides an update on adrenal steroidogenesis and the differential diagnosis of premature development of pubic hair. RECENT FINDINGS The complexity of adrenal steroidogenesis has increased with recognition of the alternative 'backdoor pathway' and the 11-oxo-androgens pathways. Traditionally, sulfated steroids such as DHEAS have been considered to be inactive metabolites. Recent data suggest that intracellular sulfated steroids may function as tissue-specific intracrine hormones particularly in the tissues expressing steroid sulfatases such as ovaries, testes, and placenta. SUMMARY The physiologic mechanisms governing the onset of adrenarche remain unclear. To date, no validated regulatory feedback mechanism has been identified for adrenal C19 steroid secretion. Available data indicate that for most children, premature adrenarche is a benign variation of development and a diagnosis of exclusion. Patients with premature adrenarche tend to have higher BMI values. Yet, despite greater knowledge about C19 steroids and zona reticularis function, much remains to be learned about adrenarche.
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Botteron KN. Editorial: It's Complicated: Adrenarcheal and Pubertal Hormonal Influence on Brain Development. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2020; 59:699-700. [PMID: 32311474 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Recent research has begun to establish the very important role of prepubertal, pubertal, and peripubertal neurodevelopment and the developmental expression of adolescent-onset psychiatric disorders. There are definite changes in the rates and expression of psychiatric disorders during this time period of marked hormonal changes, with increases in rates of both major depression and anxiety disorders, particularly in females, and a sharp increase in risk-taking behavior in both males and females. Recent reports underscore the critical roles that neurodevelopmental changes contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders. Typical pubertal developmental changes, such as generalized growth spurts, breast and genital bodily maturation, and the onset of menstruation are strongly related to developmental changes in hormonal expression. Until recently, however, many behavioral and psychiatric investigations (including neuroimaging investigations) did not measure hormonal levels. Such investigations, by a small number of investigators, have been completed over the past 5 to 10 years. These studies make it clear that we need to substantially increase our understanding of the endocrine-related neurodevelopmental processes in periadolescence and adolescence as they relate to the expression of many psychiatric. Barendse et al.,1 published in this issue, reports some interesting findings that advance our understanding of adrenarcheal brain development, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and its relationship to anxiety symptoms.
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Rodrigues MA, Sanford SR, Rogers MP, Lee KMN, Wilson MA, Amos J, Hunter CD, Clancy KBH. From maternal tending to adolescent befriending: The adolescent transition of social support. Am J Primatol 2019; 82:e23050. [PMID: 31531899 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Attachment theory holds that parental relationships have lifelong effects on offspring social lives. The tend-and-befriend hypothesis posits that female friendships among humans evolved as part of a primate-wide coping mechanism to mediate stress by relying on social support. Here we bridge developmental and evolutionary frameworks to examine adolescent girls' perception of their reliance on female friendship for social support, how perceptions of parental relationships affect peer relationships, and the extent to which parent and peer relationships buffer depressive symptoms. We predict perceived maternal relationship quality will be positively associated with close female friendships, and maternal relationships, paternal relationships, and female friendship will buffer depressive symptoms. Participants were adolescent girls from a summer science camp (N = 95). Participants filled out demographic information, social network surveys, the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale, and the Center for Epidemiology Depression Scale. Data was analyzed with Pearson's correlations, t tests, and path analysis. Adolescent girls with few female friends, compared with girls who had more than two very close female friends, experienced more depressive symptoms (t = 3.382, p = .001, D = 0.784). Adolescent girls with few female friends experienced more depressive symptoms compared to girls with two or more very close female friends (t = 3.382, p = .001, D = 0.784). Stronger maternal and paternal relationships were associated with having more female friends (maternal: t = -3.213, p = .003, D = 0.837; paternal: t = -2.432; p = .017). In the path analysis model, only maternal relationship quality significantly predicted female friendship category (β = .33, CR = 2.770, p < .006). Furthermore, participants with two or more very close female friends and higher paternal relationship quality had significantly fewer depressive symptoms (friends; β = -.19, CR = -2.112, p = .035; paternal: β = -.33, CR = -3.220, p < .001), and older participants had more depressive symptoms (β = .17, CR = -1.931, p = .036). These results provide additional support for the tend-and-befriend hypothesis, suggesting that maternal tending sets the stage for close female friendships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle A Rodrigues
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.,Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
| | - Summer R Sanford
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.,Animas High School, Durango, Colorado
| | - Mary P Rogers
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
| | - Katharine M N Lee
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
| | - Meredith A Wilson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
| | - Jennifer Amos
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
| | - Carla D Hunter
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
| | - Kathryn B H Clancy
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.,Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
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