title: Neuropsychological functioning in girls with premature adrenarche.
abstract: Contemporary research indicates that brain development occurs during childhood and into early adulthood, particularly in certain regions. A critical question is whether premature or atypical hormone exposures impact brain development (e.g., structure) or function (e.g., neuropsychological functioning). The current study enrolled 40 girls (aged 6-8 years) diagnosed with premature adrenarche (PA) and a comparison group of 36 girls with on-time maturation. It was hypothesized that girls with PA would demonstrate lower IQ and performance on several neuropsychological tasks. The potential for a sexually dimorphic neuropsychological profile in PA was also explored. No significant univariate or multivariate group differences emerged for any neuropsychological instrument. However, effect size confidence intervals contained medium-sized group differences at the subscale level. On-time girls performed better on verbal, working memory, and visuospatial tasks. Girls with PA showed improved attention, but not a sexually dimorphic profile. These results, though preliminary, suggest that premature maturation may influence neuropsychological functioning.
authors: Division of Adolescent Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039, USA. abbigail.tissot@cchmc.org
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Tissot
authors: L D
authors: LD
authors: Dorn
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Rotenstein
authors: S R
authors: SR
authors: Rose
authors: L M
authors: LM
authors: Sontag-Padilla
authors: C L
authors: CL
authors: Jillard
authors: S F
authors: SF
authors: Witchel
authors: S L
authors: SL
authors: Berga
authors: T L
authors: TL
authors: Loucks
authors: S R
authors: SR
authors: Beers
mesh_terms: D050499:Adrenarche; D001143:Arousal; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000150:complications*; D014706:Verbal Learning