Restructuring of amygdala subregion apportion across adolescence

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Amygdala development is linked to sex and puberty, with neuronal changes occurring in specific nuclei.
• Previous research suggests amygdala subregions and composition may change with age.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if amygdala subregion volumes and proportions vary with age, sex, or puberty in adolescents.
• To identify specific amygdala subregions that exhibit developmental changes during adolescence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the in vivo CIT168 atlas to quantify 9 amygdala subregions in 408 typically developing adolescents (ages 10-17).
• Employed Generalized Additive Mixed Models to analyze non-linear associations with age and pubertal status, stratified by sex.
• Used a best-fit modeling approach to determine drivers of observed associations.

Main Results:

• In males, significant age-related associations were observed in the basolateral ventral and paralaminar subdivision (BLVPL), central nucleus (CEN), and amygdala transition area (ATA).
• Males also exhibited age-related differences in the relative proportions of BLVPL, CEN, ATA, lateral (LA), and amygdalostriatal transition area (ASTA).
• Age, rather than puberty, was identified as the primary driver of these developmental variations in males.

Conclusions:

• Amygdala subregions display distinct age-related variations specifically in adolescent males.
• These findings suggest unique male-specific developmental trajectories within the amygdala.
• Further research is needed to explore the implications for sex differences in adolescent mental health.