title: Reduced frontal white matter volume in children with early onset of adrenarche.
abstract: While there is growing evidence that puberty affects brain development, very little is known about the structural brain changes associated with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), an adrenal hormone that exhibits dramatic increases during adrenarche, the earliest phase of puberty. Moreover, no research has investigated whether relatively early exposure to DHEA (i.e., early adrenarche) during this period is associated with differences in brain structure. We ran a whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analysis on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging brain scans to compare gray (GMV) and white matter volumes (WMV) between children experiencing relatively early (n=41) vs. relatively late (n=44) adrenarche. We also investigated the correlations between GMV or WMV and DHEA levels, and finally, tested for sex differences in group and correlation analyses. We observed reduced frontal WMV in a cluster located on the left corona radiata in children experiencing earlier adrenarche. In addition, WMV in this area was negatively correlated with DHEA levels. We did not observe any effect of gender in both the group and the correlation analyses. Early onset of adrenarche (as defined by relatively early exposure to DHEA) may be associated with differences in the development of frontal white matter tracts.
authors.affiliation: Monash Clinical and Imaging Neuroscience, School of Psychological Sciences & Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Klauser
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Whittle
authors.affiliation: Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Julian G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.affiliation: Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.affiliation: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Lisa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Mundy
authors.affiliation: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.affiliation: Monash Clinical and Imaging Neuroscience, School of Psychological Sciences & Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Australia.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fornito
authors.affiliation: Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA. Electronic address: nallen3@uoregon.edu.
authors.forename: Nicholas B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Allen
mesh_terms: D050499:Adrenarche / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000254:growth & development*; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D066127:White Matter / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone
keywords: Adolescence; Adrenarche; Brain; Childhood; Dehydroepiandrosterone; Gray matter; Magnetic resonance imaging; Puberty; Voxel-based morphometry; White matter