Sex Differences and the Impact of Steroid Hormones on the Developing Human Brain
Sex Differences and the Impact of Steroid Hormones on the Developing Human Brain
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DOI：
10.1093/cercor/bhn100
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发表时间：
2009-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Konrad, Kerstin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Neufang, Susanne;Specht, Karsten;Konrad, Kerstin
人们对青春期荷尔蒙对人类大脑发育的影响知之甚少。在一项基于体素的形态测量研究中，对 46 名 8-15 岁受试者的灰质 (GM) 体积与性别相关的差异进行了检查。男性的左侧杏仁核 GM 体积较大，而女性的右侧纹状体和双侧海马 GM 体积大于男性。在 30 名受试者的子样本中，性别二态性区域与青春期发育的坦纳阶段 (TS) 以及类固醇激素的循环水平相关。无论性别如何，杏仁核和海马体积随 TS 的变化而变化，并与循环睾酮 (TEST) 水平相关。相比之下，纹状体 GM 体积与青春期发育和循环类固醇激素无关。全脑回归分析显示循环雌激素水平与海马旁 GM 体积之间以及 TEST 水平与间脑结构之间呈正相关。此外，还发现循环 TEST 和左顶叶 GM 体积之间呈负相关。这些数据表明，某些大脑区域的转基因发育与性成熟有关，并且青春期激素可能对发育中的人类大脑产生组织影响。
Little is known about the hormonal effects of puberty on the anatomy of the developing human brain. In a voxel-based morphometry study, sex-related differences in gray matter (GM) volume were examined in 46 subjects aged 8-15 years. Males had larger GM volumes in the left amygdala, whereas females had larger right striatal and bilateral hippocampal GM volumes than males. Sexually dimorphic areas were related to Tanner stages (TS) of pubertal development and to circulating level of steroid hormones in a subsample of 30 subjects. Regardless of sex, amygdala and hippocampal volumes varied as a function of TS and were associated with circulating testosterone (TEST) levels. By contrast, striatal GM volumes were unrelated to pubertal development and circulating steroid hormones. Whole-brain regression analyses revealed positive associations between circulating estrogen levels and parahippocampal GM volumes as well as between TEST levels and diencephalic brain structures. In addition, a negative association was found between circulating TEST and left parietal GM volumes. These data suggest that GM development in certain brain regions is associated with sexual maturation and that pubertal hormones might have organizational effects on the developing human brain.