title: School-Based Sex Education and Neuroscience: What We Know About Sex, Romance, Marriage, and Adolescent Brain Development.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many school-based abstinence-only sex education curricula state that sexual activity outside of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological effects. Recent advances in neuroscience have expanded our understanding of the neural underpinnings of romantic love, marriage, sexual desire, and sexual behavior and improved our understanding of adolescent brain development.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this article, we review recent advances in neuroscience and clarify what is known about the link between neural development and adolescent romantic and sexual behavior and what opportunities exist for future research.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Whereas the evidence from neuroscience does not yet allow for clear conclusions about the cost or benefits of early romantic relationships and sexual behavior, it does indicate that providing developmentally appropriate education contributes to lifelong sexual health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Developing policies and practices for school-based sex education that reflect current research will best support the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents throughout their lives.
authors.affiliation: UC Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA. asuleiman@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Ahna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ballonoff Suleiman
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. meganjohnson@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Iowa State University, Human Development and Family Studies, Ames, IA. birdie@iastate.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Shirtcliff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. agalvan@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galván
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D059906:Neuroimaging; D010152:Pair Bond; D060728:Reproductive Health; D012574:Schools; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006728:Hormones
keywords: adolescence; developmental neuroscience; love; marriage; sex education