Associations between adrenarcheal hormones, amygdala functional connectivity and anxiety symptoms in children

Barendse, Marjolein E.A.; Simmons, Julian G; Byrne, Marann; Patton, George C.; Mundy, Lisa; Olsson, Craig A.; Seal, Marc L.; Allen, Nicholas B.; Whittle, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.020

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Based on our results it seems that girls who have experienced person-related adverse events during childhood and boys who have experienced environment-related adverse childhood events have prolonged increased levels of DHEA, although the latter was not statistically significant. Increased DHEA levels have been shown in children with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms and in adult patients with major depressive disorder and addictive disorder [20,45,46]. Taken together with the results from our study, childhood adversity may be linked to increased DHEA levels in girls, with potential long-term negative effects on mental wellbeing.…”

Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 79%

Sex-specific associations between person and environment-related childhood adverse events and levels of cortisol and DHEA in adolescence

et al. 2020

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Background Person and environment-related childhood adverse events have been demonstrated to increase the risk of impaired mental health in later life differently for boys and girls. Altered hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA)-axis functioning has been suggested as a key mechanism underlying this association. Cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are both output hormones of the HPA-axis. DHEA may have a protective function against long-term exposure to increased levels of cortisol, but has been little investigated in relation to childhood adversity. Objective We aimed to test the associations between person-, and environment-related childhood adversity and levels of cortisol, DHEA and cortisol/DHEA ratio in adolescent boys and girls. Methods A total of 215 Dutch adolescents participated in the study and filled out the 27-item Adverse Life Events Questionnaire for the assessment of childhood adversity, which was split up in separate scores for person-related and environment-related events. Cortisol and DHEA concentrations and cortisol/DHEA ratio were determined in proximal 3 cm long hair segments. Additionally, saliva samples were collected immediately and 30 minutes after waking up, at noon and at 8 pm. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to test associations between childhood adversity and cortisol and DHEA concentrations, for boys and girls separately, with age, BMI and pubertal development as covariates.

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Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 79%

Sex-specific associations between person and environment-related childhood adverse events and levels of cortisol and DHEA in adolescence

et al. 2020

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“…I suggested that the primary effect (among others) of increasing DHEAS is the maintenance of plasticity in the developing brain (36,37), a point since elaborated by others (38,39). Recent finding showing an impact of DHEA on cortical development and cortical-limbic connectivity in children (14)(15)(16)(40)(41)(42)(43) provide strong support for this argument.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Del Guidice (1) has argued that middle childhood is a time when attachment becomes sexually differentiated and the increase in DHEAS stimulate genetically-based sexually related behaviors that will be more fully developed with puberty. The fact that DHEAS has been related to amygdala connectivity and emotion in prepubertal children (40) together with the role of amygdala in human chemosensory processing (162,163) provides a potential link by which body odor at adrenarche might be related to the emergence of sexual awareness. Specifically, the development of body odor as a function of sebaceous glands (37) may be synchronous with the development of the emotional salience of body odor as a signal.…”

Section: Evolution Of Early and Middle Childhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

DHEAS and Human Development: An Evolutionary Perspective

Campbell

2020

Front. Endocrinol.

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Adrenarche, the post-natal rise of DHEA and DHEAS, is unique to humans and the African Apes. Recent findings have linked DHEA in humans to the development of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDPFC) between the ages of 4-8 years and the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) from 7 to 12 years of age. Given the association of the LDLPFC with the 5-to-8 transition and the rTPJ with mentalizing during middle childhood DHEA may have played an important role in the evolution of the human brain. I argue that increasing protein in the diet over the course of human evolution not only increased levels of DHEAS, but linked meat consumption with brain development during the important 5-to-8 transition. Consumption of animal protein has been associated with IGF-1, implicated in the development of the adrenal zona reticularis (ZR), the site of DHEAS production. In humans and chimps, the zona reticularis emerges at 3-4 years, along with the onset of DHEA/S production. For chimps this coincides with weaning and peak synaptogenesis. Among humans, weaning is completed around 2 ½ years, while synaptogenesis peaks around 5 years. Thus, in chimpanzees, early cortical maturation is tied to the mother; in humans it may be associated with post-weaning provisioning by others. I call for further research on adrenarche among the African apes as a critical comparison to humans. I also suggest research in subsistence populations to establish the role of nutrition and energetics in the timing of adrenarche and the onset of middle childhood.

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“…Androgens affect synthesis, metabolism, receptor concentration, and trafficking of neurotransmitter systems (Schiller et al 2016), neuroprotection and neurogenesis (Mahmoud et al 2016), and central nervous system functional connectivity (Barendse et al 2018). Whereas aripiprazole and clozapine are prolactin sparing, all other SGAs, and particularly paliperidone and risperidone, increase prolactin levels (Leucht et al 2013;Peuskens et al 2014), disrupting the healthy functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitarygonadal axis and androgen levels.…”

Section: Endocrinological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male-Specific Metabolic Considerations Concerning the Prescription of Second-Generation Antipsychotics to Adolescents

Rice

Walther

2021

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

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Objectives: Although males and females gain comparable weight when prescribed second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), males may be uniquely vulnerable to an array of endocrinological, inflammatory, and psychosocial adverse drug effects. Methods: This opinion piece reviews work in each of these three areas for consideration. Results: Androgens may decrease both through hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis dysregulation and as a consequence of increased adiposity. Testosterone has anti-inflammatory properties, and declining levels as well as many other factors may influence overall immunological functioning. Psychosocial stressors are gender specific in obesity, and SGA-induced obesity may affect males in unique and severe ways. Conclusion: This opinion piece supports the framework of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry's Task Force on Men's Mental Health to advocate for further studies concerning the adverse drug effects of SGAs as unique manifested in male children, adolescents, and young men.

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Associations between adrenarcheal hormones, amygdala functional connectivity and anxiety symptoms in children

Cited by 20 publications

References 51 publications

Sex-specific associations between person and environment-related childhood adverse events and levels of cortisol and DHEA in adolescence

Sex-specific associations between person and environment-related childhood adverse events and levels of cortisol and DHEA in adolescence

DHEAS and Human Development: An Evolutionary Perspective

Male-Specific Metabolic Considerations Concerning the Prescription of Second-Generation Antipsychotics to Adolescents

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