Puberty and functional brain development in humans: Convergence in findings?

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Research on pubertal hormones' effects on the brain is extensive in animals but nascent in human adolescents.
• Neuroimaging studies are increasingly exploring the link between pubertal development and functional brain changes in humans.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively review and quantify findings from human adolescent neuroimaging studies on pubertal hormones and brain development.
• To assess the convergence of findings across different cognitive and emotional processing domains.

Main Methods:

• A review of neuroimaging literature examining the relationship between pubertal hormones and brain development in adolescents.
• Quantification of findings by assessing convergence in the locus and directionality of effects within specific content domains (reward, facial emotion, social information, cognitive processing).

Main Results:

• Convergence in the locus of effects was found only in the amygdala for face processing.
• Positive effects showed convergence in social information processing, but not consistently in any specific brain region.
• No convergence of effects was observed in the reward or cognitive processing domains.

Conclusions:

• Limited convergence across domains suggests critical theoretical, methodological, and analytical issues hinder progress in the field.
• Addressing these challenges is essential for advancing our understanding of pubertal influences on adolescent brain development.
• Future research requires standardized approaches to overcome current limitations.