Journal article
Associations between early adrenarche, affective brain function and mental health in children
S Whittle, JG Simmons, ML Byrne, C Strikwerda-Brown, R Kerestes, ML Seal, CA Olsson, P Dudgeon, LK Mundy, GC Patton, NB Allen
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience | OXFORD UNIV PRESS | Published : 2014
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv014
Abstract
Early timing of adrenarche, associated with relatively high levels of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in children, has been associated with mental health and behavioral problems. However, little is known about effects of adreneracheal timing on brain function. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of early adrenarche (defined by high DHEA levels independent of age) on affective brain function and symptoms of psychopathology in late childhood (N = 83, 43 females, M age 9.53 years, s.d. 0.34 years). Results showed that higher DHEA levels were associated with decreased affect-related brain activity (i) in the mid-cingulate cortex in the whole sample, and (ii) in a number of cortica..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Awarded by National Health and Medial Council (NHMRC)
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors like to thank all of the families who have participated in this study, and all investigators and staff working on the CATS at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) for making this investigation possible. MCRI research is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Program. The authors also thank the research staff who contributed to the collection of research data (Dr Megan Dennison, Dr Rebecca Davenport-Thomas and Rachel Ellis). This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (Discovery Project grant: DP120101402), the National Health and Medial Council (NHMRC; Career Development Fellowship ID 1007716 to S.W.).