Influence of gonadal steroids on cortical surface area in infancy

Autor:	Ann Mary Alex, Tom Ruvio, Kai Xia, Shaili C Jha, Jessica B Girault, Li Wang, Gang Li, Dinggang Shen, Emil Cornea, Martin A Styner, John H Gilmore, Rebecca C Knickmeyer
Rok vydání:	2021
Předmět:	Fingers Male Sex Characteristics Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Estradiol Pregnancy Cognitive Neuroscience Humans Infant Original Article Female Testosterone Gonadal Steroid Hormones
Zdroj:	Cereb Cortex
ISSN:	1460-2199 1047-3211
DOI:	10.1093/cercor/bhab410
Popis:	Sex differences in the human brain emerge as early as mid-gestation and have been linked to sex hormones, particularly testosterone. Here, we analyzed the influence of markers of early sex hormone exposure (polygenic risk score (PRS) for testosterone, salivary testosterone, number of CAG repeats, digit ratios, and PRS for estradiol) on the growth pattern of cortical surface area in a longitudinal cohort of 722 infants. We found PRS for testosterone and right-hand digit ratio to be significantly associated with surface area, but only in females. PRS for testosterone at the most stringent P value threshold was positively associated with surface area development over time. Higher right-hand digit ratio, which is indicative of low prenatal testosterone levels, was negatively related to surface area in females. The current work suggests that variation in testosterone levels during both the prenatal and postnatal period may contribute to cortical surface area development in female infants.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::c9113854885ccb0c7cec7cd9b5f95089 https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhab410 Zobrazit plný text záznamu