title: Becoming a sexual being: The 'elephant in the room' of adolescent brain development.
abstract: The onset of adolescence is a time of profound changes in motivation, cognition, behavior, and social relationships. Existing neurodevelopmental models have integrated our current understanding of adolescent brain development; however, there has been surprisingly little focus on the importance of adolescence as a sensitive period for romantic and sexual development. As young people enter adolescence, one of their primary tasks is to gain knowledge and experience that will allow them to take on the social roles of adults, including engaging in romantic and sexual relationships. By reviewing the relevant human and animal neurodevelopmental literature, this paper highlights how we should move beyond thinking of puberty as simply a set of somatic changes that are critical for physical reproductive maturation. Rather, puberty also involves a set of neurobiological changes that are critical for the social, emotional, and cognitive maturation necessary for reproductive success. The primary goal of this paper is to broaden the research base and dialogue about adolescent romantic and sexual development, in hopes of advancing understanding of sex and romance as important developmental dimensions of health and well-being in adolescence.
authors.affiliation: University of California Berkeley-Institute for Human Development, 1121 Tolman Hall #1690, Berkeley, CA 94720-1690, USA. Electronic address: asuleiman@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Ahna Ballonoff
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Suleiman
authors.affiliation: University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galván
authors.affiliation: University of Austin, Texas, Population Research Center, 305 E. 23rd St., Stop G1800, Austin, TX 78712-1699, USA.
authors.forename: K Paige
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Harden
authors.affiliation: University of California Berkeley-Institute for Human Development, 1121 Tolman Hall #1690, Berkeley, CA 94720-1690, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Dahl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Adolescence; Developmental neuroscience; Puberty; Romantic development; Sexual development